


Jupiter Ecliptic

by KitLaBelle



Series: The Arc of Jupiter [1]
Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Aegis as Space Police, Alien Culture, Alien Mythology/Religion, Alien Sex, Alien Technology, Coelura (novel), Cultural Differences, Culture Shock, Cybernetics, F/M, Genetic Engineering, Indentured Service as an Accepted Practice, Knotting, Legion as Military, M/M, Matris as medics, Multi, Nakshatra as Parliment, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Puppies, References to Incest, Reincarnation, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Sex, Sleeping Together, Splicing with human DNA, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy, Triune Goddess, Worldbuilding, genetic memory is a thing, many OCs to be introduced, never to be seen again, planets as gifts, space empire, technically light beastiality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-20 05:30:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 130,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13710861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitLaBelle/pseuds/KitLaBelle
Summary: After the events that revealed an entire universe of possibilities and changed her life forever, Jupiter has to find a way to reconcile her new reality and navigate this incredibly dangerous universe.New relationships and old secrets come to light that may threaten everything she holds dear, and in order to protect her family and friends, Jupiter is going to have to pick up the reins of her entitlement and become the Queen she was born to be.But is she forging a new path for herself, or just setting her feet upon the road that destiny long ago paved?





	1. Past is Prologue: Part I

**Author's Note:**

> The characters of Jupiter Ascending don't belong to me, they belong to the Wachowski siblings. Only the original characters and plot of this continued storyline are a product of my twisted mind.
> 
> If you find any errors, please let me know. Thanks!

_The smell of scorched metal and acrid fumes sear her nostrils and burn her throat as she fights her way upwards through the tower. The ever-threatening rise of the gaseous hurricane as it wreaks havoc within the refinery’s containment field is a constant reminder of her impending demise if she can’t find her way up and out._

“Laceration along her left forearm. Bleeding heavily. Take care of that first, if you will?”

_Balem’s sudden appearance, haggard and sweating, eyes dark and split lip set in determined lines, causes her breath to catch and her heart to lurch. The sudden juxtaposition of pumping adrenalin and a crushing lack of oxygen rob her of the ability to scream as she spins._

“Fractured scapula…”

_The sharp blows spread fire across her shoulder and down her chest. Another slices agony across her ribs._

_“Is this familiar, mother?”_

“Fractured ribs, dislocated shoulder, and lacerated skin along her shoulders and down her arms…”

_A frightened desperation takes hold as she struggles through broken glass, crying out as another blow shatters nerve endings along her spine. Sudden, ripping pain across her scalp as he lifts her bodily by her hair._

_“Does some part of you remember this like I do?”_

“Dislocated three fingers; two on the right, pinky on the left; and abrasions on her palms, elbows, and alongside her right jaw…”

_“This is how it began…”_

_He throws her down and a sickening crunch comes from her shoulder when it collides with the metal grating. Before she can roll away there is a choking pressure on her throat. She looks up to see him bearing down, his weight on the weapon._

_“We were fighting.”_

“Bruising on her throat. Laceration near her right eye…”

_“Do you remember what you said?”_

_She fights for a strangled breath and pushes, leaning up and forward just far enough to reach the wound on his thigh and press desperately into it with her thumb. She hears his pained shout but only cares enough for the breath she can take before rolling off her shoulder and kicking him away so that she can get to her feet. The immediate struggle is a miasma of black pain and red breath until the metal in her hands solidifies into the pipe he’d been holding._

_Then she is standing over him. The man who threatens her family. She lashes out once. Twice. She knows the sound he makes when she hits him- part pained shout, part sob- will haunt her._

“Substantial burns on her right upper arm and thigh. Those will need secondary attention…”

_His raspy breaths are audible, even over the din of the station being destroyed in the hurricane of Jupiter’s Great Red Eye. “I remember what you said…” he raises his face and looks at her._

_His eyes are black pools of emotion; self-loathing, guilt, hate, love, fear. “You told me you hated your life. It’s the truth!” He argues at her disbelieving look. “And you begged me to do it.” Disgusted, Jupiter straightens, only just holding back her pain through gritted teeth when he shouts. “You begged me to do it!”_

_She throws away the pipe- “I am not your damn mother.” –and then the floor falls out from under their feet._

“She’ll be fine lieutenant.”

_And she is falling._

_The storm rages around her, tearing the metal in screaming bits, throwing them at her as she tumbles through the air. She cries out as her body is rocked by blow after painful blow from falling debris. She watches in growing despair as their last hope of salvation, the Aegis ship, disappears through the portal as it closes. The pressure from the gas giant slowly overcoming the gravity well of the platform, squeezing in and sucking the breath from her lungs as burning gasses melt the flesh from bones, ignites the factory works around them and she is falling through hell itself. Until…_

“That title was stripped from me when they clipped my wings.”

_Caine._

_“Jupiter. Just breathe.”_

Jupiter woke with a strangled scream.

“Hey, you’re all right.”

Before she’s even truly awake, Jupiter is sliding off the cot and into his arms. She’s not aware of the sounds she’s making until his voice breaks through her low whimpers.

“I’ve got you, Majesty. You’re all right. You’re family’s fine, just breathe. I’ve got you, Majesty.”

Over and over again, accompanied by a warm hand soothing up and down her spine as she pressed her face into familiar warmth. She was curled against his left side, her face in his shoulder, her knees tucked between his elbow and his rib cage. One of her hands was curled around his shoulder and the other was wrapped around the barrel of his chest. It was a wonder he could breathe with how hard she was holding onto him, but perhaps, considering he could survive an explosive decompression without his skin immediately boiling, he was probably made of sterner stuff than the average human.

“Sorry,” she murmured.

He shifted, and his breath warmed her ear. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“You keep having to save me.”

There was a smile in his voice when he responded, “It’s my pleasure, Majesty.”

She snorted. “Is not, but I appreciate it just the same. I know it’s not your job.”

He shifted, but didn’t answer, and Jupiter knew enough about him to know that he wanted to argue with her but didn’t think it was his place.

She lifted her head. “What?”

When he turned to meet her gaze, they were so close they were practically sharing breath. To Jupiter, it wasn’t as unsettling as she thought it would be. From everyone else she’d met in just the past few days; their nearness, the way the Aegis or the people of Ores deferentially addressed her, the way her genetic pre-incarnation’s children treated her proprietarily; it made her uncomfortable, sometimes in the extreme. But she suspected that Caine could get away with a great deal, and none of it would bother her. She wondered if that was her broken inner compass, or something that was intrinsically him.

Caine tilted his head; the gesture distinctly dog-like. “When Titus contracted me to retrieve you, it was a term of our agreement that you remain unharmed.”

She blinked. “And when you delivered me to Titus, your contract was complete, despite the way he concluded your agreement.” The corner of his mouth lifted at her reference to his being forcibly ejected out an airlock. “It’s how I got your and Stinger’s pardons.”

“Your Majesty does have a way with words.” The smile dropped from his face, “But I violated the terms of that agreement long before he did, and proved it when I went with you to Ores instead of delivering you straight to Titus, like he commanded.”

“But we were with the Aegis by that point, you couldn’t have stopped them taking me to Ores.”

He gave her a steady look. “Believe when I say I could have got you off that ship, away from the Aegis and to Titus long before they would have been able to do anything about it.”

“Then why-?”

“Because the instant Stinger recognized what you were, everything changed. And by the time we were headed for Ores, I knew I had to do everything in my power to protect you.”

Her voice, when she spoke, was quiet. “Why?”

“Because it _is_ my job,” he snarled through gritted teeth, unwilling to tell her the full reason, but unable to lie to her.

This time, Jupiter leaned back so that she could see his face fully. What she saw there made her heart clench; it was everything she’d ever wanted for herself, and more. It was proof her compass wasn’t broken, just aimed at a fixed point; him. She remembered that moment on the wedding platform, when Caine asked her permission to kill Titus and Titus’ surprise. She realized then that Titus wasn’t surprised at Caine being willing to kill him; he was surprised that Caine was asking _her permission_. Loyal to her even then.

This time, when she spoke, her voice was soft, but filled with everything she felt for him, everything she needed from him. “Why?”

“Because you-” he closed his eyes and took a breath, compelled. “You’re pack.”

Caine froze, unsure of what would happen now that he’d voiced what he’d been feeling since meeting her- hell, since he first caught her scent.

In his world a splice was the property of their splicer until sold. That contract could only be rendered null through service given or granted by those who had bought it. As a genetically defective pup and the runt of his litter, he’d been sold at a loss to the Legion, where he’d quickly risen through the ranks to become one of their best hunters. His contract fulfilled, he’d pledged another three tours to the Legion and their reward for loyal service had been his freedom in the form of wings and a place in the Skyjacker’s, the Legion’s elite. He’d moved sideways through their units until settling under Stinger Apini’s command. There, he’d not just found a place, but somewhat of a home.

To the Legion, his genetic programming being deficient towards the Entitled was a boon. It meant that he didn’t readily follow any order given to him by those he was meant to protect and police. That it had somehow rendered him unable to control his instincts was a shame, on both him and his maker.

He’d known the instant he’d come aware again from his instinct-induced fugue state, that the repercussions of his actions were more far-reaching than his summary removal from the Skyjackers and his dismissal from the Legion. He’d been clipped and stripped and sent to the Dead Lands for the remainder of his lifetime as punishment. He’d heard, months later, that his Splicer had been force-retired in shame, all her splices sold off at a pittance and sent to the outer worlds to work where they would offer the least danger to those who owned their contracts. He’d known that Stinger had been clipped and cut from the Skyjacker’s for defending him, for taking responsibility for his actions, but he hadn’t known that his commander had remained a Marshall for the Legion until he’d done his research on the planet.

He didn’t realize how much he’d been hoping for a happy reunion with Stinger until he’d received a stiff one. He’d been expecting the gun in his face. Hell, even the punch and the subsequent sparring wasn’t too far out of the realm from normal for them. But the cold shoulder; Kiza ignoring him and Stinger spilling his secrets was like a slap in the face to a man who’d been, if not expecting, at least hoping for forgiveness, given the givens. Instead, when Caine had explained how he’d gotten out and why he’d been working for a Royal; he’d gotten derision. And then when his loyalties had shifted; he’d gotten a blaster in the back.

It wasn’t in him to hold grudges, it’s why when he needed a co-pilot to get through the Warhammer blockade, he’d gone straight for Stinger, but he would never again trust that he’d be getting a helping hand from the bee-splice instead of a fist.

But time and again, Jupiter had been more than he’d been expecting. Her scent called to him like nothing else ever had. Her eyes lit up whenever she found his face. Her trust in his word without question was amazing to a second-rate, defective splice like him. She knew his story, knew his background, and still wanted him, trusted him, looked to him for guidance. When any other full-blooded human would have shrunk back from him in fear, when any other Entitled would have put him down and called it well done, when the Royals had tried to kill him, she kissed him. He could deny her nothing.

“You’re my pack. And it is my job to protect my pack; before code or contract, you protect pack.”

He waited for her to deny it, to decry that she had any relation to him as any other Entitled would have done. When he felt the heat of her hand on his cheek, he couldn’t help the reflexive flinch, but when nothing else happened, he had to open his eyes.

What he saw in her eyes made all the bad that had happened in his life worth this moment; it was everything he’d ever wanted and never knew he’d been looking for. It was home.

She smiled. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he blinked incredulously.

She nodded and pushed her hand into the hair at the base of his neck. “Yeah,” she sighed. “I’m definitely okay with that.”

He obeyed the slight pressure of her hand and buried his nose in her throat with a faint whine. “Okay.”

They stayed like that for a long time, both of them comfortable sharing their warmth and space, until a chime above their heads sounded.

Caine lifted his head with a bitten back sigh. “The Aegis needs to take your statement for the Records.”

“Oh,” Jupiter swallowed. “So… should I…?”

He shook his head. “Chatterjee will come to you. That’s likely her hail to see if you’re awake.”

A corner of her mouth lifted. “And am I awake?”

He shrugged and buried his nose in her neck again, “That is entirely up to Your Majesty.”

“Ah, okay. So how do I…?”

“Just call out to the shipboard entity,” he mumbled into her neck.

“So… ship?”

_“How may I be of assistance?”_

“That is so _Star Trek_. Please inform the captain that I am awake and ready to give my statement.”

_“I will do so, Your Majesty.”_

It was only a few minutes, in which neither Caine nor Jupiter moved, before there was a friendly chime at the door to their quarters. When Caine made to rise, she tightened her arm around him and cupped the ball of his shoulder. “No, stay. I need you right here.”

He stared at her in shock, having expected her to pull away from him in public. “Really?”

Jupiter frowned and curled her other hand around the back of his neck, pulling him back down into their embrace, “Really, really.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he murmured into her neck, settling back into his seat and tightening his arms.

Jupiter turned and called, “Come in.”

The door opened and the pale android walked in. She blinked at their embrace, and then nodded. “Oh, good. Your Majesty is awake. Would now be a good time to take your statement? Or should I order refreshment?”

Jupiter slowly smiled, ignoring Caine’s slight stiffening, “Both?”

Lieutenant Gemma Chatterjee nodded and the node on her ear lit in a flurry of blinking lights. “I assumed enriched liquids and a light meal is acceptable?”

“Very.”

Chatterjee smiled and sat on the only other chair in the room. “Shall we begin?” At Jupiter’s nod, the node lit with red and stayed that way. “I am now recording for the Commonwealth Archival the statement of facts as they stand from Her Majesty Jupiter Jones, Signified Recurrence of Seraphi Abrasax. In your words, Your Majesty, what happened after the corridor to the Jupiter Platform closed?”

And so, sitting in Caine’s lap, safe in his arms and warmed by his breath on her neck, Jupiter described how she’d been brought before Balem. She spoke of their interaction, how he’d slapped her when she accused him of murdering his mother, but didn’t deny it. She explained his terms; her abdication for her family’s safety, and described her reasons for sacrificing herself and her family for the continued existence of the people of Earth.

She stopped briefly when the tray of food and drink arrived, only shifting slightly in Caine’s lap so that she was leaning back against his chest instead of curled around his shoulder. He settled his arms around her waist and buried his face in her nape, only lifting his head when Jupiter tapped his cheek to get his attention. A pleased rumbling sound started deep in his chest when she fed him bits of food from her plate.

When she was ready, she nodded to Gemma Chatterjee and watched as the node behind her left ear turned red again.

Jupiter fleetingly described Caine’s explosive entrance, her shattering the abdication sheaves, and Balem’s violent attempt to get rid of her. When Caine’s arms tightened around her and a low growl started in the back of his throat, she soothed him almost absentmindedly before describing, in great relishing detail, her literal knee-jerk response to being choked and Balem’s fall to the floor. She spoke briefly of falling _through_ the floor and her reunion with Caine before describing how she moved her floating, and non-responsive family out of the way of Caine’s battle with Balem’s Sargon Greeghan.

Then she tightened her hands on Caine and spoke of how Balem had attacked her again, this time with a sharp object, cutting her forearm before she shot him in the leg. How an explosion in the refinery rocketed through the throne room above them, causing a part of a column to plunge through the floor, taking her and Balem into the refinery works. She spoke then of her struggle to get out of the gravity stream, to climb up through the refinery to get back to Caine and her family, and of how Balem found her before she could.

She talked about Balem attacking her a third time, this time with a pipe, while he talked about killing his mother, she couldn’t soothe away Caine’s low growl. She described how she stuck her thumb in Balem’s leg wound, how she got the pipe and struck him back, and how she threw it away after he’d accused her (pleaded for her forgiveness?) of begging him to kill her. And then she described falling before being caught by Caine.

“That’ll all we need, Your Majesty,” Chatterjee interrupted. “And quite enough.”

Jupiter blinked at the cybernetic officer. “Am I in trouble?”

Chatterjee looked down at her in surprise. “No, I should think quite the opposite in fact. After everything is filed and your Advocate is finished, I think Ores will most likely grant you compensation for Lord Balem’s attempted murder of you as well as reparations for murdering your precursor.”

“Oh,” Jupiter turned in Caine’s lap to glance at him before lighting up with an idea, “Oh, hey, can I give some of my paperwork to you to forward to whoever appropriate?”

“Of course,” Chatterjee smiled.

Jupiter got up and rifled through the few objects she’d collected over her time at Ores, pulling her Royal Guard Appointment. “Can this go to a Legion Administrator?”

Chatterjee nodded, “We have one aboard. I’ll alert Lieutenant Cofe you intend to file with him, shall I?”

“And please let him know I’d like to speak with him privately before my family and I disembark.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” The cybernetic nodded, “The Keepers will be here within the hour should you wish anything specific done for your family. We’ve already had the last day erased from them, per standard procedure.”

Jupiter stiffened at the mention of the Keepers. When Chatterjee mentioned what had already been done to her family, she slid her hand into Caine’s before she could let her temper out. “Thank you,” she said to the cybernetic before she let herself out. “Caine,” she sighed.

“I’m here, Majesty.” He whispered, still staring at their clasped hands in surprise.

“My family, Caine.”

His head jerked up at her frightened tone. “They’re fine, Majesty. The Aegis and the Keepers know what they’re doing,” When that didn’t seem to soothe her, he drew her near, marveling anew that he was allowed to. “I know your experiences with them haven’t been the best, but the Keepers are very good at making sure the local population comes to no harm during off-world incursions.”

She turned to look at him. “Do these ‘off-world incursions’ happen often?”

He lifted a brow and gave her a slow smile. “More often than you would think.”

“I think you’d be surprised. Our history is full of alien sightings, being abducted, and crash landings of little green men.”

“Rarities, considering the Keepers usually live on the world they’re watching over.”

“Watching over.” She stated.

He was learning that tone meant she wanted an explanation. “It _is_ their job. You saw part of it, rebuilding and erasing memories to ensure the continued well-being of the stock.”

“And those that were trying to shoot us out of the sky?”

Caine nodded, “Shadows, a branch of mercenary Keepers that do the dirty work of the planet’s owner.”

“And now that I own the planet?”

“They all work for you, they’ll be biologically conditioned to please their owner.”

Jupiter blinked, both revolted and fascinated. ‘How does that work when owners change?”

“Unlike genomgineered subjects, their biological hardwiring is subjective, and requires a conscious trigger. They need only be shown the legal paperwork to switch their allegiance from Balem to you.”

“As easy as that?”

Caine shrugged, “Part of their biology is like a hive-mind. Once one of them knows, all of them do.”

“You’re talking about telepathy?”

He shrugged again. “It’s why Balem had to send Sargon troops to retrieve your family. Once your claim went through, the Keepers would no longer act against you.”

“That is both reassuring and vaguely creepy.”

Caine smirked. “As Your Majesty says.”

Jupiter gave a slow smile as she finally let herself be pulled into his arms. “Say it again.”

His smirk softened as she leaned toward him. “Your Majesty.”

There was a soft chime at the door. “ _Your Majesty?_ ”

Jupiter let her head land on his chest with a groan. “Yes?”

“ _There is a Lieutenant Cofe waiting to speak with you._ ”

She straightened, “Let him in,” but let her hands linger on Caine as he moved to clear their food.

The door opened and a lean, rough looking man walked in wearing the familiar black uniform she was coming to understand designated the Legion. “Your Majesty?”

“Lieutenant Cofe?”

He nodded, “You wished to discuss your Royal Guard appointment with me?”

Caine lifted the tray of dishes and made for the door, “Your Majesty, I’ll be back in a few minutes, with your permission?”

She nodded, answering both men at the same time gesturing Cofe to take a seat. She waited until the door closed before asking, “About Stinger and Caine’s pardon; did you receive it?”

Cofe nodded. “Yes, their paperwork has been processed and their former positions and honors have been reinstated. The Legion is glad to have them back –Captain Apini especially, the 67th were a legend –although I’m not sure where they’ll be stationed at the moment.”

“The 67th?”

“Captain Apini’s Skyjackers team. They were one of the few designated for Special Warfare Development. It’s said they could complete any assignment given to them. Each member of their team was at the top of their skill-set. Their Hunter was a legend in the Legion, said to be able to track a single gene across the galaxy. I’m not sure what happened to them all after Captain Apini’s court-martial, but I hear those that didn’t leave after their force-retire from the field went into training.”

Jupiter lifted her brows. From what she knew, he was talking about Caine, and she wondered why he didn’t seem to know that the man that just left had been that legendary hunter. “Force-retire?”

“The 67th wouldn’t integrate a new commander, so they were given the option of retiring from the field or leaving the Legion.”

“About that,” Jupiter leaned forward. “If they’re agreeable, can I request certain members of the Legion to be assigned to my Royal Guard?”

He grinned. “Your Majesty, I’m sure they would be delighted to come back to work under their old commander, and as long as none of them were dishonorably discharged, I can have them reinstated with full merits, the force-retire removed now that their Captain has been pardoned.”

“And if they were dishonorably discharged?”

“That will be more difficult but not impossible.”

“Good. All I ask is that you have records of each in those circumstances sent to me and Commander Apini for approval before approaching them with the offer.”

“It will be done.”

“Now, my last stipulation; their families.”

Cofe frowned, “Families?”

“Commander Apini has a daughter he would be very unhappy to leave behind. I have no doubt that some of the others may as well.”

“The families won’t be a problem, Your Majesty. When Legionnaires return to service, any family they have acquired in the interim is compensated for their loss.”

Jupiter stared for a moment before shaking her head. “You misunderstand me. I mean to offer any family they have a place in my household.”

It was Lieutenant Cofe’s turn to stare before speaking, a slightly incredulous tone in his voice, “You mean to take-”

“I mean to offer – _only_ offer – a place for their families, should they wish to bring them along instead of abandoning them with a token pittance. They may also have the choice of leaving their families and sending back a monthly stipend to support their families should they wish to remain where they are. I know how entrenched in their communities families can get, so I’m offering the choice, and I won’t be forcing the issue. Am I understood?”

Cofe’s smile this time was equal parts unbelieving and luminescent. “I believe, Your Majesty, that you will gain quite a few hearts as well as loyalties. And that will neatly solve the problem of what to do with both your Skyjackers, although I’m not entirely certain how lieutenant Wise will integrate with the new team-”

“Oh,” she interrupted. “He’s not new. That legendary hunter you were talking about?”

Cofe’s brows rose. “I’d heard he’d died in the Dead Land’s, Your Majesty.”

“You’d heard wrong.”

The man sat back for a second, his jaw working. “Are you sure about him being assigned as your Royal Guard? You’re aware of the _reason_ he was sent to the Dead Lands in the first place?”

“I’m aware. Caine is also the one that took a Zero through the storm of Jupiter’s Eye, broke through the containment field, and rescued me from Lord Balem.”

If Cofe’s brows climbed any higher they would disappear into his hairline. “Then you’ve gained the loyalty of a man it’s said would prefer to kill an Entitled rather than take orders from one.”

She nodded, not about to repeat what Caine had said about pack.

“Then we’ll approach him with the same offer and, as you stipulate, if he’s willing he’ll be assigned as your Royal Guard with the rest of his old unit.”

“Good,” She smiled back, pleased to hear Caine being called hers. “Will contacting those that didn’t accept teaching positions be a problem?”

“Not at all,” he shook his head. “It’s protocol for the Legion to keep tabs on all its former members, although it may take a few days for any messages to be received and even longer for the paperwork to be completed.”

“Perfect.”

There was a chime at the door before it opened for Caine. “Captain Tsing has a transport ready for us. Your family is already waiting, and Stinger will meet us in the hangar, if you’re ready?”

Jupiter nodded. “Let me gather my things.”

Lieutenant Cofe stood, “If there is nothing else?”

“No, thank you. That will be all.”

He nodded, “I’ll have a message sent to you when I know.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“Your Majesty,” he gave a brief bow before nodding at Caine and taking his leave.

Jupiter gathered her old clothes, shoes, phone, Code Conduct guide and her Royals Ways and Means Commission into a pack the Aegis provided, the purple dress she’d kept from her time at Kalique’s _alcazar_ , which had been carefully packed in a dress bag, and her jacket, all of which she was going to have to somehow hide from her family. When she had everything, she turned to Caine, who took the dress bag from her and offered his arm. She took in his new uniform, jacket and a similar pack to the one she’d been given before she smiled, curled her hand around his bicep, and leaned against his side as they walked to the ship’s hangar.

When the doors opened, she was surprised to see Captain Tsing wearing Aegis blue and standing alongside Lieutenant Chatterjee and Stinger.

“Your Majesty,” Captain Tsing smiled wide, “It has been a rare privilege to assist you.”

Jupiter stepped forward, offering her hand. “You’re leaving?”

Tsing’s smile widened. “Not yet, we’ll stay in orbit until your guard arrives. But after that, we’ve been assigned to help clean up the refinery on the planet Jupiter.”

“So you’ll be in the neighborhood?”

“I’ve asked to be permanently assigned to this sector,” she lowered her head. “With your permission, of course.”

Jupiter grinned. “I’d like that very much.”

From Stinger’s grin, he’d like that, too. Caine’s raised eyebrow said he knew it, as well.

Tsing gestured to the open doors of the transport where the Keepers suddenly melted into existence. “This is Karl, he’s been given the honor of being your Keeper liaison, should you approve of him, and his seconds, George and Tweak.”

Jupiter controlled her automatic flinch before finding the humor in their names. “Karl, George, and Tweak?”

Caine leaned in before the Keepers could take offense to the slight hitch of laughter from their owner. “Their real names are unpronounceable to humans, so they take names from the planet they’re set to guard.”

“Ah,” Jupiter cleared her throat before turning to the one in front. “Karl?”

He inclined his head and chittered something at her. When it was obvious from her frown that she didn’t understand, he touched something on his throat and spoke again. “If your Benevolence is ready, shall take her and the family back to their homes?”

Jupiter lifted her brows. “Benevolence?”

“Conditioned to please,” Caine reminded in a low voice.

“It would please me if they called me Jupe,” she returned.

Caine smirked and took a step back, assuming position at her left shoulder.

Karl bobbed his head and gestured her inside the transport. “Lady Jupe?”

Jupiter turned her head toward Caine as they walked up the short ramp. “Ha!”

He chuckled and followed her inside, stowing her dress bag and their packs in a small locker while Karl showed Jupiter her family stowed safely in zero-grav pods.

Stinger said a few words to Tsing before following them aboard. “Ready, Your Majesty?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she answered.

Karl chittered at George and Tweak, watching as one darted forward into the cockpit while the other closed and secured the ramp and door, before turning and helping Jupiter into her seat. The trip to Earth was relatively short, but in that time, Karl showed her a screen with a small selection of what looked like watches. Wondering what they really were, she nevertheless chose the one she liked most at Karl’s urging and watched him skitter off toward the cockpit to supposedly retrieve it.

“It’s half gone eleven in the city, Your Majesty,” Stinger pointed out as they flew over Chicago. “It’ll probably be best to have the Keepers just put your family to bed. Let them wake up thinking nothing has happened.”

“And my house?”

He titled his head toward the view screen at the front of the ship. “See for yourself.”

Jupiter stood and watched as George (or Tweak? She couldn’t tell) piloted the transport to land right on her uncle Vassily’s front lawn, turning so that the ramp would be right at the front door.

“Our neighbors can’t see us, right?”

“Cloaking technology,” Stinger reminded.

“And if they’re walking their dog on the sidewalk and happen to run into an invisible ship?”

Stinger smirked, “Short-term memory loss via your friendly, neighborhood Keeper?”

“You’re not funny.”

“I’ll work on that, Your Majesty.”

The door opened and the ramp lowered, allowing several more Keepers to scamper aboard and begin uncoupling her family from the pods while Stinger and Caine escorted Jupiter inside her home to inspect the repairs. Jupiter looked around in open-mouthed wonder; everything had been returned to exactly how it had been, down to the last detail. They had Lyudmila’s knitting basket right next to the love seat, and even the chip on the side of the dining room table – which had been destroyed last time she was here – was exactly how she remembered.

As the Keepers began bringing in her floating family members, she directed them to their proper rooms; uncle Vassily and aunt Irena to the master bedroom, grandmother Lyudmila and her cousin Mikka to the smallest bedroom, uncle Zeno, and cousins Vladie and Moltka to the second bedroom, and her mother and aunt Nino to the basement. As she did a circuit of the house, checking on her family, she found that the Keepers had changed them into appropriate night clothes, removed the glowing gravity bands from their wrists and ankles, and put them to bed in their accustomed places. She wasn’t sure whether to be reassured or generally freaked out that the Keepers knew which side of the bed her aunt and uncle slept on.

Efficient and quick, the Keepers were already loading onto the transport before she was done checking on her mother and aunt. Before he left, Karl presented her with a delicate looking wrist band in dark metallic metal, and another mechanical booklet. “Your communicator and operation manual, Lady Jupe.”

“Thank you, Karl.”

Karl bobbed his head and scampered out the front door to wait at the base of the transport ramp. It was only then that she noticed Stinger and Caine standing by the front door.

“You’re not staying?”

Stinger shook his head. “Keepers have agreed to pick up Kiza for me, we’re rendezvousing with the Legion carrier over Callisto to get her a Recode for her bug.”

Jupiter swallowed her revulsion at the mention of a Recode, and stepped forward to hug him. “Visit me when you come back?”

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” he returned her hug before stepping back with a nod. “I’ll give you two a minute.”

Jupiter turned to Caine and opened her arms before he could say a word. He dropped his pack and stepped gratefully into her warmth, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her against him. “I don’t want you to leave,” she murmured against his throat.

He buried his nose behind her ear, breathing deep of her scent before giving a response. “I’m not going far, Majesty. There’s a motel two blocks from here.”

“Too far,” she argued.

Caine huffed a laugh and set her back on her feet. Then he reached in her pack and pulled out her phone before taking the communicator from her hands and activating both. Above the face of the communicator band glowed a virtual interface that he programmed with a long code. He then set the communicator above the cell phone until it chimed. “There,’ he said, handing both items back to her.

She looked down at her phone to see Caine’s name as a new profile in her phone. When she looked back up at him, he smirked.

“The communicator will work with your phone until you get a com-plant. Until then, I’m merely a phone call away.”

She reached up, curled her hand around the back of his neck, and pulled him down into a kiss. Everything around him receded as her lips set fire to his entire being. It wasn’t possessive or aggressive, like he was expecting. It was tender and caring. It made him growl with need as she cupped his face with her hands, then trailed them down his body to hold him so close to her that his head spun with disbelief.

And in that moment, all he wanted was to be inside her. To have her hold him like this while there was nothing between them. Bare skin to bare skin.

Jupiter couldn’t breathe as she tasted Caine, as he let her pull him down into a kiss right in the front door. She wasn’t unaware of how he shied away from physical contact when in public, and for herself she wasn’t too fond of PDA, but with him it was different. When he kissed back, Jupiter lifted onto her toes, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and plastered herself against him, groaning low in the back of her throat. Every part of him was sculpted muscle, nothing soft except his lips.

There was a slight creak on the ramp behind them.

Caine tensed at the sound of Stinger getting impatient. But he was still incredulous that Jupiter had grabbed him like this in public. No woman had ever done that before. He’d always been relegated to the shadows – to places where no one could see them together.

The fact that she’d kissed him so openly… _again_ …

It was heaven.

He wrapped strong arms around her, lifting her briefly off her feet before he set her back down and gave several soft nips to her lower lip and along her jawline, burying his face in her sweet scent. It was a scent he wanted to bathe in until it coated every inch of his flesh and branded him as hers. When he reached her ear, he hummed, “Thank you, Jupiter.”

Biting her lip, Jupiter sighed and pulled back so that she could see his face mottled with red. “Don’t forget me.”

“Never,” he rejoined before fiercely kissing her one more time before he let her go. He bent, grabbed his pack, and then backed onto the transport ramp. “Goodnight, Your Majesty.”

She lifted a hand in farewell as the transport lifted off, the ramp closing and the ship becoming indistinguishable from the air around it. “Goodnight,” she whispered.

Then she turned to face her home and wondered what tomorrow would bring.

 


	2. Interlude I: The Crèche in the Caliper System

Deep in the heart of the Imperium spun a small system with just four planets; one small and nearly molten riding the currents of solar flares and radiation that constantly volleyed from the dying star at its center, two gas giants that clung to the dying gravitational forces flinging them ever outward, and one that hung in that sweet spot between too far and not far enough. On the second moon overlooking the mostly green planet below, under a dome three meters thick and wide enough to house a continent beneath its surface, lifted a gleaming spire. The Crèche was a well-known point in the Imperium, whispers about its secrets were flung far and wide and with great purpose. Even its denizens didn’t know the full scope of what they were building here, only that they _were_ building something. Those privileged few to catch a glimpse of the vast well in the center of the spire could attest to that.

On its uppermost floor, standing on clear glass and looking down hundreds of feet was the one being who could boast knowledge of their ultimate goal.

Meriden Te stared down at the vast quantities of lightly glowing tubes no bigger than her pinky that filled the well spiraling down like a double-helix deep into the moon. Each tube, she knew, represented the perfect coding of each individual to pass through the Imperial Registrar since the Battle of Brasax put an end to the Clone Plagues twenty millennium before the Great Expansion. Millions upon billions of souls uniquely coded with four simple nucleotides that make up the building blocks for every living creature in the gyre. With a sugar-phosphate backbone and base pairs measuring in the nanometers, a single strand of 85 millimeters has a near endless amount of possible combinations, and only two percent of which is used of determine the characteristics of species, sex and race. Two percent, the whole universe of possibilities, and only ever a handful of recurrences in the last million years.

The fact of recurrence wasn’t the wonder; statistically there should be much more than were found and brought to the attention of the Guild. The wonder was _why_ ; why this one and not another? Why her?

Why _always_ her?

“Mistress?”

Meriden Te slowly looked up from her contemplation into the young face of her aide. “Yes, Mother Jiro?”

“The Clade is waiting for you.”

“Are all the Mothers present?”

“All sixty-four required for Conclave, Mistress.”

She breathed in through her nostrils, using the action to still her unease at the news. “It’s been confirmed, then?”

Mother Jiro nodded. “Within zero-point-zero-zero-two-five percent of the original coding of the two percent gene block.”

Meriden sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. “Has Sister Howland been summoned?”

“She has, but there is still no response.”

Her eyes snapped open at that. “Was the urgency of our need communicated?”

“Of course,” Mother Jiro lowered her eyes. “We have not heard back from the pair of sisters we sent planet-side to retrieve her.”

Meriden bit back a curse. “Has the Clade been informed?”

“I was about to inform them myself.”

“I’ll do it,” Meriden clenched her teeth before turning back to look down into the Well. “I need you to do something else for me.”

“Yes, Mistress?”

“I need you to track down Sister Marcellian Cahun. I fear her theories are about to be put to the test.”


	3. Past is Prologue: Part II

Tomorrow and the day after were a test of her patience. Jupiter kept waiting for her mother or Vladie or aunt Nino to ask her about being abducted. She kept expecting the Sargon to appear, hissing threats, and she missed Caine terribly. Her impatience led to a lack of sleep and a seemingly boundless amount of energy, so she was up before everyone else and finished with her cleaning assignments on time rather than late like her usual routine.

The only thing that seemed to keep her on an even keel were her late night phone calls on the roof with Caine. He soothed her fears after asking about her day and entertained her with stories about trying the local cuisine. Jupiter had almost laughed herself off the roof when he described his first reaction to a hot dog.

She spent her evenings reading; learning how to work her communicator, memorizing the Code Conduct Guide, and thoroughly familiarizing herself with her Royal Ways and Means. It’s within that paperwork that she learned the terms of Seraphi’s Will concerning any official Recurrences. She is ceded three systems – one from each of Seraphi’s children’s inheritances – the jewel of which is Earth in the Sol System. These systems include seven habitable planets, two of which are seeded – including Earth – a refinery on one of the other seeded planet’s (called something that looks Greek and unpronounceable) moon’s; three of Seraphi’s former _alcazar_ in each of these systems, including a sprawling one on Jupiter’s moon Callisto; a small fleet of ships, including Seraphi’s former Royal Clipper; and an awful lot of something called Cs’s which she suspected might be the Imperial version of money. If it was, she was now something of a gajillionaire.

_“It’s common for anyone in the ‘verse to leave a trust for any potential recurrences. My mother wrote her future self into her will; right now Balem owns the title to Earth but once you claim it the Earth will belong to you.”_

_“How can one person own the Earth?”_

_“It’s just a planet, Jupiter.”_

She wasn’t sure what to do with all that, so she set it aside to deal with later. Preferably when her head stopped spinning.

When she learned on the second night that Caine was using loaned credits from the Legion to live, she quickly contacted Lieutenant Cofe and had him set up an account for herself, Caine, Stinger and Kiza to draw from. Apparently, according to her Royal Ways and Means, as this planet’s owner she was entitled to anything made here, including an unlimited amount of funds set up through dummy corporations and maintained by the Keepers. On the third day, which happened to be a Saturday, and the one day she got off work before two, she got a call from Stinger telling her they were back. She arranged to meet Stinger, Kiza and Caine at a diner not too far from her last stop, and then told her mother and Nino that she was meeting friends nearby so that they wouldn’t be inclined to stop and meet them as well.

The reunion was a happy one, but Jupiter was taken aback at Stinger’s appearance. Not only was he dressed in the now familiar black uniform of the Legion, but he was outfitted with a pair of what Jupiter now knew were Skyjackers boots, and covered with a long, heavy jacket. But more surprising was his youthful appearance. Like Kalique’s transformation, it was as if someone had taken an airbrush to all the imperfections brought on by age. Gone were his graying hair and wrinkles, his sagging skin, the few age spots, and the extra cartilage in his ears and nose. He looked a man in his prime and no older than his daughter. Even his scars were gone; erased as if the damage that caused them had never been. If she hadn’t known his face, she would have thought he and Kiza were siblings and not father and daughter.

At her raised brows, Stinger shrugged self-consciously. “They had to give me a recode in order to make sure the refit took.”

“Refit?”

“He means his wings,” Caine said with a slow smile. “You got them back.”

“Better,” Stinger said with an insouciant grin. “Best pair of bio-neural synaptic prosthetic wings on the market.”

Jupiter’s eyes lit up. “Really? Can I see them?”

“Not here,” Stinger laughed. “But I promise I’ll show them to you.”

“I’m holding you to that,” she pointed her finger at him.

His grin was unrepentant. “As Your Majesty commands.”

“Don’t worry.” Kiza laughed as she stepped in. “He’s like a little kid showing off.”

Stinger and Cane both laughed as Jupiter hugged the surprised young woman, and was surprised herself at the force of her return embrace.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Kiza whispered before pulling back. “For him, for me, and for the money. It’ll really help with the hive upkeep, and being able to move a swarm when one gets too close to peoples’ houses.”

“Do people call you for that?”

“The locals do, when our hives split and get too close to some of their farms.” Kida explained. “But mostly people call pest control, who then call us to see if a hive can be moved or needs to be exterminated.”

“Thankfully we’ve only had to terminate a hive once,” Stinger put in as they entered the diner and were seated in a large, round booth in the back. “The queen was too entrenched in the walls of an old barn and wouldn’t come out.”

“The owners had been away for the summer, and by the time they’d returned to find their barn overrun, it was too late to safely remove the hive.”

“Huh,” Jupiter said, “I’ve never thought about that before.”

“Most people don’t, Majesty, and that’s a good thing,” Stinger pointed out. “Bees are classified as a helpful insect, rather than a pest, so it’s preferable to relocate them if possible.”

They ordered more food than Jupiter suspected they could eat, and sat and talked like old friends. Jupiter could see a marked difference in Kiza’s health and, despite her disgust with how Regen-X was made, was glad the young woman was now cured of her ‘bug.’

“What did you have,” Jupiter asked Kiza as the food arrived and Caine and Stinger made it a competition to see who could eat the most. “If you don’t mind me asking?”

“I don’t mind,” Kiza shook her head. “It’s a form of degradation of the genes, like cancer, that some second generation splices get.”

Jupiter lifted her brows. “Second generation?”

“I was born, not made,” Kiza explained. “My mother was a secondary human.”

Jupiter glanced at Caine, some obvious questions she wanted to ask – and she’d definitely be coming back to the term ‘secondary’ – but afraid of the answers just yet. She turned back to Kiza. “Where is she now?”

“She died during a carrier assault on some bandits on the edge of the gyre.” Stinger explained. “She was Aegis, and didn’t mind carrying Kiza to term when I asked for the contract.”

“I don’t understand,” Jupiter put her chin in her hand. “Why did you need a contract?”

“I’ll explain, Your Majesty, but first, it’s getting late and Kiza needs to get home.”

“Of course,” Jupiter said, looking at the table and realizing that they’d finished eating. “Let me get this and we’ll go.”

Jupiter paid the bill with her shiny black credit card she’d received from Karl, along with yet another of the metal sheaves that looked like a tablet with constantly updated status reports about her funds and holdings here on Earth from the Keepers. As they walked out of the restaurant, Jupiter grabbed Caine’s hand and laced her fingers with his.

Caine stared at their hands entwined as they walked down the street, Stinger and Kiza walking in front of them. It was the most incredible sight he’d ever witnessed. When Kiza turned around, so that they could discuss all the improvements she was planning for the house, Caine expected Jupiter to let go of him and stiffen uncomfortably. She didn’t. She stayed relaxed, left her hand in his, even after Kiza pointedly noticed their clasped hands and gave Jupiter a thumbs-up.

Kiza kept a running dialogue of the changes she was hoping to make, only occasionally asking for Jupiter’s advice or arguing with her father when he disagreed with her ‘improvements.’ They walked the two or so blocks to an outdoor parking garage and climbed the few stories to the top. It wasn’t until they were back in the open air that Caine’s higher senses kicked in. A low, sub-sonic hum filled the air, along with the scent of scorched metal and superheated porcelain tinged with a very familiar bio-electric fuel exhaust, painted a picture Caine almost couldn’t believe.

“Oh, you bastard,” he breathed, interrupting Kiza’s question about color schemes.

Stinger huffed a laugh and tossed him a small black object that looked remarkably similar to a key fob. “You break it, you buy it.”

Caine caught the fob off-handed because he refused to let go of Jupiter’s hand first. He pressed a button on the fob and watched as a sleek ship melted into existence in the large open space. The cutter was the finest civilian transport the Legion had; designed to comfortably seat four, it was capable of seating eight in a pinch. And it was fast. Nearly as fast as Legionnaire Zeros. Caine practically whimpered and then looked to Jupiter as if asking for permission.

Jupiter laughed and shook their entwined hands before releasing his. “Go,” she said, indicating the ship with a wave of her hand. “Enjoy.”

Caine darted forward, giving her a swift, deep kiss, before bounding off toward the ship, dragging Kiza with him and explaining all the modes and cool things about machines that men were want to do. Jupiter watched with an indulgent smile. The universe over, and men were the same everywhere. It was so reassuring.

Stinger sidled up next to her.

“Why aren’t you over there?” she asked him with a tilt of her head.

“It’s mine,” he shrugged with a grin. “I can afford to let the kid have a go at it without getting territorial.”

“Don’t let him lie to you,” Kiza called. “He was like a hyperactive man-child when the Legion first offered the cutter as a permanent transport.”

Jupiter grinned at him. “Permanent transport?”

“Apparently you are allowed all the perks when you’re assigned to Royal Guard duties,” He said softly, eyeing Caine.

“I haven’t told him yet,” Jupiter murmured back.

“If you’re waiting for him to ask, he won’t.”

She had no response to that. She’d become aware very early on that despite his abilities, Caine never asked anything for himself. If he hadn’t mentioned getting in contact with Lieutenant Cofe to borrow more funds against his returned salary from the Legion, she wouldn’t have known anything about his lack of finances.

“It’s a good thing you’re doing for us, Your Majesty,” Stinger continued when she remained silent. “I don’t know that he or I would have been very useful to the Legion if you hadn’t asked for us.”

“What would you have done?”

He turned to look at Kiza and Caine chatting and smiling like children in the cockpit. “For myself, I think I would have asked to remain a Marshal for Earth. It’s where Kiza and I made a home.”

“And him?”

She didn’t have to say his name to know she was asking what the Legion would have done with Caine.

“Solo hunting missions until he failed or retired.”

It sounded more ominous than the words alone allowed.

Before she could ask for details, Caine jumped out of the cockpit and strode toward them. “Stinger, will you watch over Jupiter while I’m gone?”

“What?” Jupiter blinked. “You’re leaving?”

“Of course,” Stinger held out a hand which Caine instantly took. “Why’d you think I handed you the control?”

“Bragging,” Caine smirked at him. “Obviously.”

“Oh, aye.” Before Caine could react, Stinger had him in a headlock and they tussled, rocking back and forth across the tarmac as they fought for position. “I need to get your attention somehow, eh? Nothing gets through that thick head of yours unless it’s leaning against a beautiful piece of machinery.”

Jupiter rolled her eyes and waited patiently for them to finish. She could see now why Kiza called it a male mating ritual. It wasn’t until they’d measured the length of the roof and nearly rolled into her legs that she cleared her throat to get their attention.

They stopped, stared up at her for a beat, before rushing to get to their feet, all elbows and apologies.

Caine dusted off his knees, “Sorry, Majesty.”

Jupiter didn’t respond to that other than to lift her brows. “You’re leaving?”

“Uh,” was his response.

Stinger snorted before clapping him on the shoulder. “You’re on your own with that one,” he smirked, nodded at Jupiter, “Majesty,” and then turned to hug and worry over his daughter before she left.

When Caine turned his attention back to her, he shrugged. “I was called in by the Legion. They’re going to reinstate me and give me my assignment.”

“Oh,” Jupiter blinked. “When will you be back?”

Caine took an involuntary step forward at her plaintive tone. “As soon as my CO allows,” he cupped her cheek in his hand. “That is, if you still want me to come back?”

“Of course,” Jupiter only then realized that not only didn’t Caine know he was being stationed as her Royal Guard, but that Stinger would be his Commanding Officer again. “Caine-”

“Caine!” Kiza called. “Come on! I have to get home to check the hives and you’re dropping me off!”

“Coming,” Caine called before he slowly enfolded Jupiter in his arms, as though he was still unsure she wanted that from him, but she didn’t hesitate; as soon as he opened his arms, she threw herself in them. He closed his arms around her and held on. Not knowing when he would be allowed this again.

Jupiter closed her eyes at the tightest embrace she’d ever had. She hugged him back and just held him while the world went on around them. Nothing seemed to matter except being with him right here and right now.

Caine squeezed his eyes shut as raw emotions tore through him. _Let her go. Shove her away_. It was the sanest thing to do. The safest thing to do. But he couldn’t. He’d lived his entire life for other people, trying to please them, trying to prove himself worthy and failing with every attempt. First it had been his Splicer, then his crèche leader when his pack had pushed him too hard. Then his Legion trainer when he’d had a hard time adapting to living without a pack and the many commanding officers as he’d been shunted sideways through the Legion until he found a squad that felt close.

And then Stinger.

He’d never been good enough to earn the belonging he got so effortlessly with Jupiter. Never good enough for them to make him feel the way she did. To her he was neither splice nor soldier. Neither property nor a source of shame.

He was just a man.

A man that wanted to make love to her.

Caine sighed in resignation before burying his nose against the soft skin of her throat just behind her ear. It was where her scent was cleanest, pure. He would be able to track her anywhere now.

“Okay,” Jupiter said as he loosened his arms. “Go, so you can hurry back.”

A genuine smile curl on Caine’s lips at her words. “As Your Majesty commands.”

She kissed the tip of his nose and squeezed his hand before letting him go. He didn’t turn back until he was settling into the pilot’s seat in the cockpit of the sleek transport; closing the glass overhead and giving her a boyish grin as the engines revved up and the thing lifted off with hardly a breeze.

She and Stinger both waited until the camouflage shielding made the ship invisible before saying anything. “First thing first,” Jupiter started before he could speak. “If you ever harm me or mine again, and that includes Caine, you _and_ your daughter, intentionally or otherwise, through deliberate action or inaction,” her voice hardened but she didn’t turn away from the patch of sky where the transport had disappeared. “I will castrate you myself. Slowly. With a rusty spoon.” She turned to meet his contrite gaze. “Are we clear?”

He gaped for half a second before swallowing. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Good,” The smile she gave was slow but genuine. “I know you won’t disappoint. Now. Wings. Show me, please.”

Stinger grinned then, wide and carefree. “Yes, Majesty,” before turning his back, shrugging off his heavy jacket and flexing his shoulders. Between his shoulder blades they rested, curled and furled like a backpack made of something very like translucent, iridescent plastic. She watched as they opened, reminding her of nothing more than watching an insect or a butterfly emerging from their pupa for the first time on the NatGeo channel. In Stinger’s case, his wings stretching to their full length took only seconds and was accompanied by a strange rustling sound of the wings themselves and Stinger’s heartfelt groan – as if uncurling the wings was like stretching a stiff muscle.

At their full length, they were half again as wide as he was tall, if Stinger let them hang down, while he stood in his Skyjackers boots, they would just clear the floor. And they were beautiful. Delicately veined throughout, the clear, iridescent flesh of the wings shone like oil on water in the sunlight, full of a rainbow of colors and flashing as they moved. There was only one set and they were wider than she’d expected. Held out like they were, the widest part stretched from his shoulder blades to just above his hips.

“You can actually fly with those?”

His grin widened and, before she could warn him about people seeing, he activated his boots, and took off. Straight up. Jupiter laughed as he swooped and flew and came down to hover a few feet above her head. The flutter/buzz of his wings blew her hair into her face like a small storm before he landed.

“Fly, yes.” He said, his smile contagious.

“I can see that,” she pulled her hairband out before smoothing her hair back into its normal ponytail. Then she nodded at his boots. “Those don’t have anything to do with it?”

He smirked, folded his wings back and switched off the boots. “They use gravity, reverse it. The wings defy gravity. Allowing actual flight, agility, speed and precision. With both, there’s very little the Skyjackers cannot do.”

“Including taking a girl home?” she indicated the darkening sky. “It’s getting late and my family will start to wonder.”

“For that I think we’ll need an actual car.” Stinger shrugged his jacket back over his folded wings and indicated the stairs. “Unless Your Majesty protests the borrowing of her own assets?”

She glared at him. “I protest stealing from others if I can help it, yes.”

“Then what would Your Majesty suggest?”

Jupiter pulled her black credit card out of her pocket. “How do you feel about trucks?”

* * *

The days without Caine were long. Jupiter had gotten used to talking with him every night so quickly that she almost didn’t know what to do the first time her call didn’t ring through.

“He’s getting refitted for wings, Your Majesty,” Stinger told her when she asked him if he knew how Caine was doing. “Medical advances are fast, but it still takes time to fit the prosthetics to a body, regrow the bio-neural synapses, make sure the musculature is strong enough, and then work out all the inevitable glitches. Two days, minimum, and he’ll be heading back, mark my words.”

She’d nodded and then asked him about contracts in an effort to distract herself.

“There are a number of binding contracts between people in the Empire, Majesty. The first and most common, is that between a person and their Liege to pay off a debt. Take splices, for instance. All splices are the property of their splicer, their worth determined by life expectancy, genomgineered skill set, rarity and difficulty of the splice, and reputation of the splicer.”

“Wait,” Jupiter interrupted, intrigued and mildly repulsed at the same time. “How can one person own another, just like that?”

“Splices aren’t people, Your Majesty. In the Imperium, splices are considered sub-human and can only earn citizenship through service after our pre-debt has been paid.”

“Pre-debt?”

“The cost of creating us.”

“That’s…”

“The way things have been for thousands of your years. Since genomgeering became common place.”

“It’s not right. Parents don’t own their children.”

“We’re not born; our splicers aren’t our parents, they’re our creators.”

“It’s still not right,” she argued.

Stinger’s smile was rueful. “I’m starting to see why he likes you.”

She didn’t bother asking who. “So, splices and a set pre-debt.”

“Yes,” he cleared his throat, and got back on topic. “Once our original contract price is determined, the kind of service we get bought for determines the years we need to serve before our contract is paid.”

“Like a thousand dollars means you work for a month?”

“More like one credit is equivalent of a day’s basic labor and the average splice contract goes for around eight thousand credits, or Cs.”

Jupiter did the math in her head and felt her jaw drop. “But that’s like twenty-one years.”

Stinger inclined his head. “And that doesn’t include the cost of training, which can be anything from four to forty thousand credits, depending on the field and the level of training. Most training averages about sixteen to twenty Cs, which is another twenty to thirty years of work just to pay off their pre-debt. It’s why most splices prefer their contracts being bought for the Legion. Because of the danger inherent in that kind of work, most splice contracts are paid off within three to five years.”

“Wow.”

He nodded. “After the original contract is paid off, a splice can either retire, or continue service in order to obtain citizenship. This goes for a splice in any station, Legion, Aegis, public service, or private. Most opt to continue service as that’s all they’ve ever known.”

“Is that what you did?”

He nodded. “Citizenship is given after only a term of service.”

“How long is a term?”

“About seven of your years.”

“Why seven?”

“That’s how long the Ministry is in service for.”

“The Ministry?”

“An elected body of our government that controls legislation, taxation, and the economy,” He gave her a sharp look. “Are you going to let me finish telling you about contracts?”

She smirked. “Sorry.”

He just nodded. “The debt-contract goes for any and all debt, including that of wrong-doers, though those are barred from gaining citizenship.”

“Wrong-doers?” At his look, she mimed zipping her mouth shut and then motioned for him to continue.

“People who have broken the laws. Minor infractions are weighed in court and an amount to be repaid is determined and put into contract. These contracts are usually bought at auction, with most going into drudge government service of one type or another.” He eyed her opening her mouth and sighed, “Well? Go on, what do you want to ask?”

She flashed a smile at him. “What about major infractions?”

“Depends on the crime.” He scratched the back of his head and Jupiter realized she was heading into uncomfortable territory for him. “Most simply get a higher debt to be paid back. Occasionally, there are those who get what we call ‘Service for Life’ contracts when their infraction costs more than it would take a single life to earn back. It’s only the crimes that infringe upon basic life-rights that get a body sent to the Dead Lands.”

Jupiter stilled. “Where Caine was sent.”

“Yeah,” he nodded slowly, rubbing at his mouth. “And that only because I made sure he wasn’t put down as bad stock. When I heard the verdict, I almost wanted to take it back.”

“Why?”

“The Dead Lands is a prison-planet where only the worst of the worst are sent. There are no guards, no police, no one to treat the prisoners fairly or make sure they treat each other that way. They’re sent there to die on an inhospitable planet with people who would just as soon eat you for stepping wrong. I have no idea how Caine survived there, let alone for thirteen years.”

“Thir-” Jupiter stopped, horrified. She couldn’t imagine it. Hearing about one of her cousin’s friends being in prison for a few months had scared her. She couldn’t comprehend the horrors he must have faced on a planet with no rules, no guards, and nothing between him and death except his own will to survive. She understood now why it was called the ‘Dead Lands’ and vowed to herself to never ask Caine what he may have done to survive such a place. That he’d simply _survived_ was testament enough of his will to live. She was no longer surprised that he’d kept coming after her; she was more surprised that he’d bent to her will, listening when she spoke, giving in to her commands as easily as he had done. That he’d _asked_ if he could kill Titus and not simply done so.

She cleared her throat. “Does this mean that you and Caine can’t be citizens?”

Stinger tilted his head as he thought about it. “I know my citizenship was revoked upon my sentencing, but because I didn’t commit the crime itself, I was allowed to gain it back through service; it’s why I took the post of Marshal. But with the pardon, I got it back. M’not sure about Caine’s status; I’d have to look into that.”

“Would you?”

“Of course, Majesty. You don’t have to ask.”

“Good,” She nodded, “Let me know if I can help with that.”

“Yup,” he gave a slow smile. “Definitely beginning to see what he does.”

She snorted and swatted at him, knowing he would dodge her hand.

He did so with a huff. “The second kind of contract is a service contract and can be entered into by any free person for one of two reasons; to gain citizenship or for living fees, which start at 1C, or its equivalent, and go up depending on the service rendered.”

“What is 1C?”

“Think of it as about fifty of your US dollars.”

“A day? That’s not very much.”

He shrugged, “It’s enough to get by.”

“And what about Regen-X? How much is a single container worth?”

Stinger sat back at her question, eyeing her critically. “You really want to know this?”

She nodded, her mouth set.

He shook his head but started talking. “There are three grades that Regen-X falls into. Regular; which is what is given to soldiers and common folk in med units. Plus grade; which is generally kept for recode and those in the Ministry and Noble Houses who can afford it. And Premium; kept almost exclusively for the Entitled and the Royals. Regular grade Regen-X goes for about forty-five thousand C for a single canister. Plus grade goes for about three times that. It takes five canisters of Regular – _minimum_ – for a recode and only two of Plus. Premium Abrasax Regen-X can go for ten times that because it only takes one canister for a recode.”

Jupiter didn’t realize that she was clenching her fists until her forearms started to ache. She forcibly relaxed them, spreading her fingers on the dash of the truck as he drove. “At a hundred people a canister…” she murmured. “Two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars per life.”

“You can’t think of it like that-”

“Yes, I can,” she bit out, interrupting him. “I was ready to sacrifice myself and my family so that Balem wouldn’t be able to do that to the people of Earth. Do _NOT_ tell me how to think of it!”

Stinger reared back as if she’d slapped him. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

She didn’t have it in her to apologize for what she’d said; she _meant_ it. But, “I’m sorry. I’m not angry at you. Just at a system that treats people like cattle.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he repeated woodenly.

Jupiter let out a long sigh and turned to look out the window as they drove toward the high-end housing district of downtown Chicago. After a few minutes, the tension left her body and she turned to find that Stinger had relaxed, too.

After another minute, he broke the silence. “I’m sorry, as well. I’m used to thinking a certain way and not at all used to Entitled – let alone _Royalty_ – caring about a body as much as you do. It’s both daunting and refreshing.”

Jupiter lifted a corner of her mouth. “Better get used to it.”

“Yes, Majesty,” he smirked.

“Anymore contracts I need to know about?”

Stinger eyed her and bit his lip before he heaved a sigh. “Binding and marriage contracts.”

Jupiter stiffened before forcing herself to relax. “Okay.”

“There are two types of binding contracts; those for the purpose of combining business, and those for combing genes.”

“Huh?”

He smirked, “Children.”

“Oh,” she blinked. “You were serious when you talked about Kiza’s mother being contracted?”

“It’s common enough,” he shrugged. “Most would rather enter into a contract than end a pregnancy.”

“You mean the contract happens after…?”

“Bumping ugly’s?” Stinger supplies with a leer.

Jupiter smacked his arm. “Don’t be crude.”

He chuckled. “It’s not unheard of for genetically desirable partners to be contracted before providing their genes, but it’s not common outside the nobility. After-contracts occur much more frequently, though.”

“And what do these ‘after-contracts’ entail?”

“Living-fees during the pregnancy and for the nursing months afterwards, and a gene-compensation bonus determined by both parties’ gene-standing.”

“Gene-standing?”

“A sliding scale based on beauty and appeal, intelligence, skill-set, life expectancy, health, wealth and, in the case of splices, their splice breed and desirability. The higher your number, the higher your compensation.”

Jupiter shook her head. “I’m not gonna ask how much you paid for Kiza.”

“I had her late in life,” Stinger offered. “I was in my fifth tour in the Legion; my second in the Skyjackers, and my first as a Captain with my own squad. I was sitting pretty on a good retirement and an easy life ahead of me. When Kiza’s mother showed up three weeks after a brush pass over the Jorah system, I was in a good enough spot that I could afford her fees. And I was lucky; not many women in her position would have considered carrying for a splice, despite being a secondary. She was a little like you; very republican in her views about people.”

“I’m glad.”

“Me, too,” Stinger hummed.

Jupiter waited only a moment before asking, “Secondary?”

“A genomgineered human. Not a clone – those are illegal – but a human designed for a specific purpose, usually servitude of some sort, with a specific aptitude. Kiza’s mother, Tinda, had been designed as a dancer. She served for three tours in the theatres before switching to the Aegis.”

“Oh,” Jupiter did the math in her head. “How old are you, Stinger?”

“One hundred and twelve of your years.” At her startled look, he tried to explain. “I’ve had a good run as a splice. Most don’t get the luxury of a Medical recode, even in the Legion, unless they’re good. And I was very good. But only Royals have the luxury of time on their side. Most humanoids throughout the galaxy still only live a century or so before old age ends them. Some splices go longer because of the engineering.”

“Caine?”

“You’d have to ask him that, but he ages slowly so one of the lucky ones, despite being half-albino.”

She nodded. “And Kiza?”

“Born twenty-three years ago. Caine was transferred into my squad a little after that; she was basically raised by Skyjackers. And now that I’ve been reinstated and we’ve gotten rid of her bug, I can give her the life she deserves.”

Jupiter didn’t say anything to that as they parked in the underground lot for an upscale apartment building. They walked to the elevator and Stinger hit the button for the Lobby.

“Ready for this?”

She took a big breath and gusted it out when the doors opened. “ _So_ ready.”

He chuckled and walked her forward to the security desk. “We’re here to see the apartment?”

The security guy, aptly named ‘Guy,’ had them sign in as guests, escorted them back to the elevators and up to the 27th floor, where he unlocked one of two French-doors in the short hallway and left them with a cheery “ _Just lock up behind you when you’re done, let Marge know if you’re interested_ ,” and then got back into the elevator.

Partially furnished, the apartment took up half the 27th floor and was like many of the other luxury high-rise apartments Jupiter had been in. Only, this time, she wasn’t eyeing it with a view to scrubbing down and polishing every shiny surface, but with the intention of living here, and bringing her mother and aunt Nino to live as well. The short entrance led straight into a long living area that had a view of the lake. The open floor plan let her see the dining area and chef’s kitchen with a connected wash room pantry to the left, and the corner library slash den with a connected half bath to the right. On either side of the kitchen were doors that led to a pair of connected bedrooms; a full bath shared between them. Behind the library/den was the master bath and bedroom.

She walked the floor slowly, inspecting the fixtures, seeing the décor and noting the changes she would have to make before her mother or aunt Nino would be comfortable. The furniture, for one, would have to go. Everything was too sleek and modern. Her mother preferred old world comforts; wood floors and furniture, lush fabrics, rich colors. That brown suede couch she would always sit on for a minute or two at the Connelly’s. That thick rug she would take her time vacuuming at the Stearns’. Maybe even a record player like the one they sometimes played at the Harris’. Her aunt Nino would rule the kitchen; copper pans and fresh, hanging herbs. That thin balcony she could see outside the dining area wouldn’t have that shiny barbeque, but would be overflowing with potted plants. The pantry would be filled with made-from-scratch essentials, none of that instant crap her aunt Irina seemed to adore.

The library she’d keep for herself. She’d have the walls lined with bookshelves and fill them with every book she could find on the solar system and the stars. And probably quite a few sheaves not found anywhere else on Earth. And then, of course, she wondered how her family would take her news.

“Tell me about marriage contracts, please.”

Stinger didn’t jump at her words after such a long silence, but he did inhale, as if getting ready for battle. And maybe he was.

“Marriage contracts are broken into three different types. The first is a marriage of convenience and is often stipulated for a limited period usually being two to five years. It’s a bit like a business contract, meant for sharing assets and building upon each other’s strengths without the hassle of being beholden to shareholders or business partners. After the contract is fulfilled, the assets gained during the term are split according to pre-laid plans and both parties are free to go their separate ways. Very common throughout the lower and middle classes.

“The second is a marriage of standing and is a bit more difficult to maneuver. It’s more like a merger, with both parties giving a portion of themselves or their assets to make a new whole. This is more often used by the minor house on a single planet to gain enough power or leverage to become a noble house.”

Jupiter frowned. “What’s the difference between a minor house and a noble house?”

“A House is a single family of prominence within the Imperium. Several houses can come from a single planet. A Noble House is a family or families that own or control a primary planet.”

“A dynasty?” she asked, thinking of how Caine had described the Abrasax.

“A Noble House or houses that have risen in wealth and power enough to control more than one planet.”

She closed her eyes, not sure she wanted the answer to her next question. “Abrasax?”

“A Dynasty that has proven itself to be both the wealthiest and most powerful; second only to the Imperium.”

She breathed out, the last week running through her mind. “Seraphi was second to the Emperor?”

“Empress,” Stinger nodded.

“There’s an Empress?”

Stinger lifted a brow and nodded again.

“Balem Abrasax, too?”

Another nod. “Second to the Empress.”

She sucked in a breath and abruptly turned to face the window. “The third kind of marriage contract?”

“Completely binding and permanent, and rarely ever entered into. It requires nothing more than vows without dispute and a seal, and it renders those that enter into it under the complete control of the other. The only way out of it is through death or if both parties agree to an Annulment before the marriage is consummated.”

“No divorce?”

“No such thing. It’s why there are different kinds of marriage contracts. Some people do enter a kind of limited Separation, in which they can go about their own lives without their actions affecting their spouse. And people _can_ enter into more than one marriage contract at the same time, as long as the affected parties agree to it. The permanent marriage is usually considered only feasible if both parties have gone through one or both of the other kind of contracts, often more than once, and found each other agreeable enough not to live without. This last contract is rarely ever entered into first.”

She glanced at her left hand. “This seal; it wouldn’t happen to be on the ring finger?”

“Yes. Much like your signet, it is permanently light-configured into your DNA.” Jupiter cursed then, long and low and vulgar enough that even Stinger blanched. “I don’t think Lord Titus would appreciate the sentiment.”

“I really don’t care,” Jupiter snarled back.

“Noted, Your Majesty.” He said it with enough cheer that Jupiter had to fight back a smile. When he saw her struggle, he didn’t bother hiding his own glee.

“Oh, shut up,” Jupiter turned and headed for the door. “Call Marge and offer ten less than what she’s asking for. I’m going to have to get new fixtures and pull up all the shag carpet in here. Hopefully there’s wood floor underneath and not cement, otherwise offer fifteen less.”

“Yes, Majesty,” he muttered, following her into the elevator. “Should I call the Keepers to start work on it?”

“God, yes,” she heaved a sigh. “The sooner this is off my mind, the sooner I can start thinking up ways to tell my family that I’m quitting the family business of cleaning toilets.”

Stinger smirked, “I don’t envy you that conversation.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Welcome, Majesty.”

She snorted and bumped his shoulder with hers.

“By the way,” he glanced sideways at her. “Got a call from the Legion clipper out at Callisto.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded, his grin giving the game away. “Caine was up and out of there so fast he left skid marks in their hangar. Should be here by nightfall.”

Jupiter gave a whoop and threw her arms around his shoulders just as the elevator doors opened. They spilled into the lobby laughing. As soon as she stood on her feet again, she was reaching for her phone.

“Here,” Stinger handed her the keys to the Chevy truck they’d bought the day before. “Go, call him and I’ll take care of signing us out, calling Marge and getting everything started here.”

Jupiter stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek before she spun back into the elevator to hit the button for the garage. “Thank you!”

He gave a short bow as the doors closed. “My pleasure.”

She couldn’t get the key fob to unlock quick enough, but finally, she was in insulated silence. She dialed his number, watched her communicator blink briefly as it connected and then-

“ _Jupiter?_ ”

She sighed, “Hi, Caine.”

“ _Oh, you don’t know how good it is to hear your voice._ ”

“Likewise,” she closed her eyes and leaned back against her seat. “You won’t believe how much I missed you.”

“ _Just so you’re forewarned, I’m going to bite Your Majesty when I get there. **Hard**._ ”

Jupiter snorted into a laugh before she could stop herself. “I guess you got your assignment, huh?”

“ _I was driving myself crazy thinking I was going to be hunting on the other side of the galaxy._ ”

“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. I wanted to surprise you, but I couldn’t find the right time.”

“ _Our evening conversations? Lunches in the afternoon? That dinner right before I- wait. ‘Baby’?_ ”

She giggled. “Darling? Honey-pie?”

“ _No._ ”

“Sweetcakes? Snuggle-muffin?”

“ _Absolutely not_.”

“‘My coo-chi woo-chi little chu-chi face’?”

“ _Oh lords, why?_ ” he whined.

She broke into hysterical laughter.

“ _Please, Majesty, don’t call me any of those names in front of Stinger. I’ll never live that down._ ”

“So I can call you them in private?” she asked through her laughter.

He heaved a put-upon sigh, “ _If Your Majesty wishes._ ”

“Good boy.”

There was a swift inhale and then sudden silence on his end.

She sputtered. “Really? That works for you?”

“ _I- I don’t- uh… huh._ ”

She dissolved into laughter again, which got all the harder when she heard him muttering indignant curses. It was at that point that Stinger opened the door and abruptly stopped at the sight of his queen laughing so hard she was nearly in tears. It took a few minutes while Stinger started the truck, got them out of the parking lot and headed to her home before she got herself under control enough to hear him saying he would be there before nightfall.

“Make sure to meet Stinger at the parking structure near your old motel room,” she said, glancing at Stinger and waiting for his nod of acknowledgement before continuing. “He has some things to prep you on before he takes the transport back to the farm.”

“ _And then Your Majesty, I have something for you._ ”

“Besides the bite, you mean?” she laughed off Stinger’s alarmed look and Caine’s growl. “I have a family dinner, and then I’m all yours.”

“ _Good,_ ” he growled. “ _It’s a date._ ”

And then he abruptly closed the connection.

“Huh,” she stared at the darkened screen for a minute before Stinger’s questioning look got to her. “I think I have a date.”

“Huh,” he repeated.


	4. Interlude II: Máti in the Canaculum System

The planet Ores, origin of the dominant species in the gyre, could boast two completely terraformed moons. The closest and smallest called Aftí was home to the Nakshatra, an assembly of rulers from the Noble Houses and senior elect from the Guild’s and Ministry that acted as Council to the Imperium. Orbiting the moon was a twin set of space station rings, a tower at its center called the Hall of Titles that acted as Seat to the Commonwealth Ministry. Together, the Nakshatra and the Commonwealth wrote into and enforced the laws of the universe. The second and larger of the moons was called Máti, and there resided the Imperial Seat where the ruling Dynasty held court and could easily oversee their domain. For the last sixty-six million years the Imperium had been ruled by the Caelo Emperors and Empresses of House deCaelo, of which House Abrasax had been their ally and closest competition. Their mother, Seraphi Abrasax, was Empress Djinna’s closest friend and had been for over seventy thousand years; one of the longest to hold the confidence of the Imperium within the line of one hundred and eighty-three Abrasax Primes.

It was quite a mantle to take up. One Kalique was sure she could shoulder easily when the time came. The only stepping stone was the recurrence of her mother, Jupiter Jones.

“First Prime?”

Kalique smiled before turning to her long-time servantant. “Not yet, Malidictes.”

He gave a small nod and a pleased smile. “Only until the next Conclave of the Nakshatra, My Lady.”

“What news?” she asked, waving back the rest of her retinue as she walked the palace halls, inspecting what would soon be her home.

“The Ministry has dealt with the former Prime’s holdings according to law as dictates by the Nakshatra’s ruling.”

“Yes, my brother was guilty of many things, but I still can’t believe he murdered our mother…”

“Her Majesty Jones’ testimony was taken by the Aegis and is without question or dispute-”

“That rat Night still hasn’t been found?”

“Your men are doing all that they can, My Lady-”

“I don’t want excuses.”

“As you say, My Lady.” Malidictes lowered his head in a bobbing movement reminiscent of the owl he was related to. “I’ll have the reward for his whereabouts doubled?”

She nodded. “Her side of the story or not, I want my brother’s holdings out of her hands. She has no idea what she’s stepped into, no idea how to go about sustaining our family’s wealth and standing within the Imperium. What were they thinking, giving her those holdings as recompense? She’s a child, for star’s sake!”

“Of course, My Lady.”

Some tone in his voice made her stop and look him in the eye. “I’m protecting her, Maledictes. My elder brother would have killed her to get back what he’d lost, my younger brother would have killed her to get his hands on what wasn’t his. I want her alive and out of harm’s way, living happily on her home planet and unaware of the dangers that come with this business.”

“I know, My Lady,” Maledictes soothed.

“Maybe something to appease and distract her until I can help guide her? Something shiny to keep her away from the ceremony? I don’t want her here for the _ton_ to gawk at; she looked scared enough in front of those Sims my brother concocted for that farce of a wedding. She wouldn’t be able to handle the court. Something close though, so I can keep an eye on her.” Kalique’s face brightened. “My mother’s old _alcazar_ should do. Arrange it for me, will you?”

“The _alcazar_ or the entire planet, My Lady?”

Kalique scoffed, “What do I need that sanctuary for? See that she becomes its custodian. With all its impending paperwork. That should keep her occupied enough, don’t you think?”

“As you say, My Lady,” Maledictes answered, lowering his eyes discretely and keeping his thoughts to himself.


	5. Past is Prologue: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've come to the part of the story where I've caught up to the end of the movie. Everything from here on out is suspect.
> 
> Also. Kudos if you catch the many movie references in this chapter.

Dinner with her family had been a welcome surprise. Jupiter had _not_ been expecting them to buy her the telescope she’d been looking at; she hadn’t even thought about it since getting back. She promised herself that she would pay her uncle Vassily back every penny she’d borrowed from him, hopefully without tipping him off that she was now, essentially, the richest woman on the planet.

Getting out of the house before her family could descend when Caine pulled up in the truck had been like juggling geese. Curious, non-trainable, baby geese. She’d literally run across the lawn and launched herself into the passenger seat, yelling “ _Go, go, go!_ ” and then laughed as Caine chirped the tires and roared down the street. Once she assured him that she wasn’t actually under attack, she nearly threw herself across the center console getting into his arms. Caine tried to reciprocate her hug, but suddenly found that he needed both hands to keep from plowing headfirst into a parked car.

Jupiter collapsed into laughter, half over the console in his lap, as he abruptly pulled the truck over.

“I think we need to set some ground rules.”

She sputtered and tried to sit up, but couldn’t manage it as her laughter dissolved into half-gasped giggles. By the end of it, she was cradling her stomach and moaning between hiccupping laughs while Caine looked on with a fond smile.

“Done?” he asked, when it looked like she was finally getting her hiccups under control.

She took a deep breath and then sighed in relief when her diaphragm behaved itself. “Forever.”

He smirked. “Pity, you have a lovely laugh. I had hoped to hear it again, although perhaps not while fighting for our lives in the middle of a busy street.”

She grinned at him. “Hi, Caine. I missed you.”

He smiled, slow and sincere, as he leaned across the console toward her. “Good.”

“Yeah?” she asked, leaning in until there was a hairsbreadth of space between them. “Gonna bite me?”

He nodded, the action rubbing his nose against hers. He barely stilled his rumbled growl as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. His possessiveness toward her had only grown stronger, deepened in the days they’d been apart. With each remembered attack, each added awareness of the danger she faced, his resolve only hardened. As though the extra DNA he possessed inside his body was howling out for a claiming in a way that threw him off guard. But he found himself accepting responsibility for her safety so naturally, that he often didn’t think to question it.

He could sense Jupiter’s strength. It was there in her squared shoulders, the glint of battle in her multi-colored eyes. She proved it in every decision she made; to go with him when she could have run, to learn about the galaxy when she could have turned away and pretended it was the way she’d always known it; to fight for his and Stinger’s freedom when her own was at stake, and to face Balem for her family, when it surely meant her own life and the lives of everyone on this planet. Hell, she’d run _him_ a merry chase; asking the Legion to _request_ his service as her Royal Guard when he’d all but lost the courage to ask. But he should have expected that. Expected her to surprise him, to do the _right_ thing, especially when it wasn’t easy.

He didn’t want her easy, though, Caine realized. She was a strong woman and his dominating instincts would run roughshod over any woman who wasn’t. She already knew how to stand up to him; when she’d stated that it wasn’t _his_ decision in her house – her family or her safety. She already let him share her burdens rather than carry them on her fragile shoulders. He was dangerous when crossed in the wrong way. Dangerous _period_ if the situation warranted it. And she was his match.

“You’re distracted,” she murmured against his lips.

In response, Caine licked her lips. He didn’t steal her kiss. He didn’t take it. He cajoled it from her. His tongue swiped over the curves, pressed gently at the seam, licked at her heatedly until she opened her mouth and allowed him entrance. He nibbled at her lips, his tongue raking forcibly past them to conquer her mouth with hot, ecstatic licks and smooth thrusts. He dared her to return each caress. Took his time challenging her to give as good as she got. And Jupiter was helpless against the onslaught.

His kiss tasted like midnight, dark and deep, frighteningly savage and yet with a power so seductive that she became lost in it. He didn’t take advantage, didn’t try to force more, although Jupiter wondered if she had the strength to pull away from him. It was seductive, primal, but slow. Soft. Yet when they pulled away they were both fighting for breath.

“Is that better?”

“So much,” she breathed. “You should always say ‘hi’ to me like that.”

His smirk then, as he straightened back in his seat, was all masculine pride. “There’s a package on the back seat for you.”

She didn’t ask what, just swiveled in her seat and reached back for the only thing there; a smooth, plastic-like box about two by two feet wide. There was a leather-like strap around the whole thing, holding it together and acting like a handle. It buckled on one side. She easily undid the buckle and lifted the lid. Inside where a number of dark colored items.

On top was a pair of leather-looking pants. After staring for a second, she realized they were about her size. She turned and eyed Caine.

At her questioning look, his cheeks pinked. “I knew your size from when… from before. I wasn’t sure what you would be wearing,” he glanced down at her skirt riding high on bare thighs and his cheeks mottled further. “But I figured the trews would be better than anything you had. They’re made for the Legion, to protect the skin while training.”

She raised brow at him. “You got me training pants.”

He snorted but didn’t say anything.

She grinned and turned back to her gift. Below the pants were a set of elbow pads and gloves that were identical to the ones he was wearing. With a gasp, she pulled them off so that she could see the boots nestled on their sides in the bottom. “Oh!”

The gift was received with pleasure, and not the confusion or even the disgust he had feared. A flutter of eyelashes that betrayed her joy in receiving something that any other Entitled would have scoffed at and thrown to the ground.

He wondered if she would find as much pleasure in being touched, stroked, as he had fantasized about in the past few days. The closer he got to her, the more explicit his dreams had become, and the more savage his desire for her had grown. He wanted her with a hunger he had never known before. But first, he had to make sure she could catch herself when he wasn’t there. He couldn’t relax until he managed that.

“You got me gravity boots!”

He laughed.

“Caine,” she hugged the box to her chest. “You got me gravity boots.”

“Yes. I did.”

“I love them.”

“I’m glad.”

“Are you going to teach me how to use them?”

He lifted a brow at her and tilted his head toward the windshield. “Where do you think we’re going?”

She looked out through the glass and gave a slow smile. “You’re teaching me to fly on our date?”

He tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “That’s okay, right?”

“Perfect,” she hummed. And then she proceeded to tell him all about how curious her family was about him, whether he was affiliated with the mob–

_“Just tell them I’m in the military.”_

_“That doesn’t actually exclude you from being in the mob, too.”_

_“Your planet’s criminals are weird.”_

_“You’re telling me.”_

–If he was interested in buying a hi-def television–

_“What would I do with that?”_

_“I dunno, it’s my cousin.”_

_“This is the same cousin who convinced you to sell your eggs at the clinic?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“No.”_

_“What-”_

_“Just no.”_

–And if he knew what sign he was.

_“Sign for what?”_

_“For life?” she lifted a brow. “Don’t you pay attention to where the stars are when you’re born?”_

_“Stars don’t move that much, only the planets’ alignment with them.”_

_“Well, what month were you born?”_

_He smirked. “In which calendar? I could tell you when I was born according to the Imperial calendar, but I don’t know how that translates to yours off the top of my head.”_

_“Huh.”_

_“Why is it important?”_

So she explained about her aunt Nino and her family’s ‘curse’ and how everything had to do with someone’s sign – hers was Leo, and she explained what that meant. Sort of – and why it was important to her family. This discussion lasted through Caine finding a parking spot and then using his Acme Hole-Making device (“ _That’s not what it’s called. It creates a doorway by adjusting the vibrations of the solid mass to match the surrounding air_ -” “ _Yeah, I heard ‘hole’ and ‘making’_.”) on the security door to the building; through when she changed into her new like-leather pants in the stairwell while Caine’s back was politely turned; and through the door marked ‘ROOF ACCESS’.

And then she was flying. Or gravity surfing. Whatever.

She could use them like a snow/skate board and just ride or she could work them like inline skates and climb higher, faster. Her speed wasn’t dependent upon her muscles or the friction from the wheels, but on her lean into the wind and how hard she pushed the controls. For a time, she lost herself in the non-stop gusts Chicago was known for while Caine fluttered just above and behind her, riding the thermals.

And oh, his wings. So different from Stinger’s, they suited him in a way nothing else did. It was easy to see with the way he moved how much a part of him the wings really were. She wondered if, while they’d been gone, it’d been like losing a limb. He’d never been awkward or unsure in the way he moved – quite the opposite, in fact – but she could see from the familiar way he rolled his shoulders, that it was a remembered move from when he’d previously had wings.

A few times, when the strong winds knocked her off balance and she started to fall, Caine swooped in, caught her wrist, and lifted her above the chaotic gusts until they were hovering on the warm upwelling from the city, just below the roaring jet-stream. From there, Jupiter would grin wide and dive, swooping and rolling, gliding and skating the air until she was above the low layer of clouds watching as the sun painted them a fiery array of yellow, orange, peach and red.

It wasn’t until the light started to fade and the lights on the ground were brighter than the faint stars in the sky that she felt herself begin to lag. She’d been enjoying the freedom too much to notice the strain keeping her form and speed had been taking on her body. It took her a bit too long to realize that she was coming to the rooftop they’d started at too fast to land in any way but painfully.

Caine obviously expected it, though, as he caught her, his wings pumping heavily and his own boots activating to compensate, just before her elbow-pads would have been overtaxed and gently set her down next to the neat pile of her shoes and skirt.

“Thanks,” Jupiter huffed, her legs wobbling as she let her grav-boots deactivate.

“My pleasure, Majesty.” He deactivated his own boots and folded his wings. “You were out there nearly two hours.”

“Huh,” Jupiter watched, enthralled, as the long flight feathers pulled up into the wings and folded up to the size of a flat backpack. “Well, I was having fun.”

His grin was slow. “Do you know how happy that makes me?” He pulled on his jacket and settled it over his shoulders before walking to her and helping pack everything back in the carry case.

“What,” she blinked. “That I like falling with style?”

He laughed. “That you’re not afraid of the sky.”

She blinked again. “Is that a common fear?”

“More common than you would think for a people who live half their lives on ships that float through outer space.” He motioned her toward the door and kept a careful hand on her lower back as they walked.

“Really,” she smirked.

He nodded and reached out, putting the kinetic device against the security door and activating it so that they didn’t trip any alarms going through the locked access doors. Once in the hallways, Caine reached out and took the carry case from her, setting it on the floor.

“I want to kiss you,” he whispered as he backed her against the wall, pleased by the sudden flair of interest he saw in her eyes. “Do you know how soft your lips are?” He was careful to keep his voice from rumbling as he lowered his head to hers. “How warm and sweet you taste?”

He didn’t give her a chance to respond before his mouth was on hers. This time he didn’t ask, he took. With a hunter's keen sense of when to push and where to press, Caine tipped his head and levered open her mouth. Jupiter’s breath left her body in a soft sigh, her lips parting and allowing him entrance. A shift on her side, her arm rising to wrap around his shoulders, a slant of his head, the barest brush of heat. Caine felt as if there was no air left or needed as his tongue dipped into her mouth, enticing, begging her to reciprocate. He didn’t have the words to describe his yearning for the warmth and happiness that he felt just by being in her presence. So instead of speaking, he kissed her with all the longing that he felt.

When their lips finally parted, they were both panting for breath, foreheads just touching.

“I-” Jupiter’s voice broke.

Caine nodded slowly. “I just need to-” he swallowed heavily. “Let me-”

Words failing him once more in the face of Jupiter’s flushed countenance he decided to just dive in instead, slanting his mouth over hers as he pulled her close until there wasn’t an inch between their bodies.

She hummed in her throat and snaked her arms around his neck, body straining for him, stumbling slightly at the difference in their heights until he pulled her up against him and braced them against the wall at her back, letting her lean into his strength. His mouth moved along her jaw, kissing and nipping the skin, breath harsh and panting in her ear. And then his mouth was over hers again and all she knew was him, branding her flesh as his.

When he finally lifted his head, she sighed and smoothed her cheek against his warm neck, setting her mouth lightly on his splicing brand. He brushed his lips over her eyes, her cheek, and her forehead. The kisses were so gentle that Caine was momentarily taken aback at his own reserve. “I don’t deserve you,” he whispered huskily.

Jupiter’s lips lifted into a smile. “You’re stuck with me.”

The warmth that bloomed in his chest from those four words robbed him of speech and carried him down the stairs, out the door and into the truck. As they settled in their seats and fastened their belts, Caine reached across the console and snagged her hand, bringing her fingers to his lips.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

The look on her face softened as she caught his hand before he could pull away and brought it to her mouth, returning the gentle kiss to fingertips. “Thank you.”

He smiled, and left his hand in hers as he started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. The ride home through emptying streets was calm, sweet. Filled with soft music and radio chatter on traffic updates and local news, Jupiter paid none of it any attention. She was captivated by the gentle touch of Caine’s thumb rubbing back and forth softly over her knuckles. Such a simple thing, but it meant more to her in that moment than nearly anything in her life beforehand. For right now, right here, she was content. Happy, even.

As the truck pulled to a stop outside her family’s house, she saw the faint shimmer and heard a telltale knock on the window that meant the presence of a Keeper.

Knowing her mind, Caine rolled down the backseat window, waited for the faint shift in the vehicle to give away the Keeper’s movements, and the rolled the window back up before turning to look.

Jupiter sighed. “What is it?” she directed her question to the seemingly empty space in the backseat. The Keeper she was beginning to recognize as Tweak shimmered into view, offering her another thin sheaf. “What’s this?” she asked, taking it from him. Tweak didn’t bother answering, just lowered his head to wait as she read.

What she was reading was that there had been a breach a little over an hour ago into Earth’s atmosphere. A single transport ship had sped through the security blockade and disappeared somewhere over the skies outside Chicago, causing what amounted to thousands of C’s in damage, and destroying three Shadow Blades in the process.

Jupiter grimaced. “Were any Keepers injured? Any Shadows?”

Tweak clicked remorsefully and held two fingers up. Unlike Karl and George, Tweak didn’t have a translator – or didn’t want one, she couldn’t get an answer from Karl about it – but they communicated just fine.

“Was anyone killed?”

He shook his head, offering a few more sorrowful click and burrs. She got the feeling he was sorry that his Shadows had failed more than he was sorry about the damage done. She wasn’t about to give him a lesson on it, from the way Karl reacted to her few tries to correct their views, he just wouldn’t understand.

“All right, keep me updated.” She glanced at Caine. “I have a feeling they’re here for more than just the scenery, anyway.”

Caine smirked and got out, leaving his door open long enough for Tweak to skitter through before closing it and making his way around to open her door for her. She grabbed her skirt from the case, but left her boots and gear behind, knowing Caine would bring them again. As she turned toward the house, her fingers entwined with his, she frowned.

It wasn’t late, just half past nine, but every light in the downstairs was on when she was expecting everyone but her step-grandmother Lyudmila, who liked to watch _The Tonight Show_ , to be asleep because of their very early mornings. It didn’t take much to put her intruder and the lights together, so when Caine slipped his pistol from underneath his jacket and moved to take point, she let him.

He stopped at the door and took a slow, deep breath. “Splice, some kind of bird. Smells like flowers from Cerise,” he murmured.

“Kalique?”

“That would be my guess.”

She cursed quietly under her breath. “Okay, guess I better figure out what was so important that she sent someone to breach Code and Conduct.”


	6. Event Horizon: Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so starts Jupiter's foray into the galaxy.
> 
> Also. There's some Russian in there. Please forgive me, I don't actually speak Russian, so Google translate and PocketOxford are to blame for any misunderstandings. The translations are at the end of the chapter.

When Jupiter followed Caine into the house, it was to see her family gathered around the dining table. There, at the end where her mother usually sat during meals, was the strange bird-splice Caine had scented before entering. Unlike Caine, who could pass for human if one weren’t looking too closely at his ears, this woman reminded Jupiter of Kalique’s Aide, Maladictes, who was an owl splice. It seems Kalique had a preference for bird-like servantants who were obviously not fully human. Jupiter wondered if the choice was done aesthetically or for some other, less tolerant, reason. She made a mental note to ask as the splice stood.

She was casually dressed for Kalique’s usual retinue in leggings, a long, asymmetrical skirt, fitted blouse and open tunic jacket. But still, it was apparent that she was adorned richly in vibrant silks and soft leather with gleaming jewelry and a sedate, but still perfectly coiffed up-do that did little to hide (Jupiter suspected the opposite) her feather-tufted ears. She was very obviously part red Macaw parrot.

“Your Majesty,” she started.

Jupiter held up her hand and was inwardly pleased at immediately being obeyed by this stranger when her family did the exact opposite and erupted into questions. Questions she had no intention of answering.

While her uncle waxed lyrical about being respected in _his_ house, her mother and aunt Irena argued with each other about Jupiter’s “proper” upbringing, or lack of it, finger-quotes included. Lyudmila put her two cents in all the while complaining about her schedule of television watching having been interrupted. And Vladie. Well.

“You’re not buying into this, are you?” he scoffed, waving his hand at the splice. “She’s referring to Jupiter when she says ‘Majesty.’ _Jupiter_.” He enunciated, as if repeating her name will make someone explain it to him.

In all the uproar, Jupiter doesn’t miss the way Caine’s lip lifts at Vladie’s tone, nor the way her aunt Nino hadn’t taken her eyes off him for more than a few seconds. And those only to glance at the other splice, her brows lifting with each visual comparison. Besides the brand on their necks, there was really no comparison, but Jupiter knew her aunt’s sharp eyes hadn’t missed that either.

Inwardly, Jupiter cringed at what she was about to do, but needs must, and their safety came first, before their curiosity. She tapped her wrist band as she lifted it to her mouth. “Karl, I need you and a few Keepers here for a wipe. And please inform Tweak that I’ve found his intruder.” Jupiter noticed the parrot-splice wincing at the word ‘intruder.’

“ _Yes, Lady Jupe,_ ” came through the tiny speaker. “ _Shall arrive shortly._ ”

She looked directly at the parrot-splice. “How long have you been here?”

“Thirty-seven minutes, Majesty.” She didn’t even glance at her chronometer.

“Make it for forty minutes, Karl.”

“ _Of course, Lady Jupe._ ”

Then she turned, eyed her still arguing family and made a few, quick-second decisions. When she glanced at Caine, he was, as ever, ready and willing to take direction.

“What do you need?”

She smiled at him, running her hand down his arm before she took his hand and turned to her aunt Nino. “Will you take my guest downstairs? Give her some tea or water? I’ll be down in a minute.”

Aunt Nino eyed her niece carefully before nodding. Then, without a word she stepped forward between Aleksa and Irena, interrupting their argument and touching the parrot-splice on the upper arm before leading her to the back and the stairs that would take her down to the basement.

She turned to Caine. “Will you call Stinger and Kiza? Ask them to meet at the apartment tomorrow morning? I have a feeling this is going to get complicated.”

He smirked and tipped his head toward the back. “You want me to-?”

“Please.”

He squeezed her hand before following her aunt and the parrot-splice.

“Now just a damned minute!” Uncle Vassily started. “This is _my_ house-”

Jupiter ignored him and reached for Aleksa. “Mama, I need you to trust me right now and stay quiet for just a few minutes, then I’ll explain everything. Can you do that for me?”

Aleksa put her hands on either side of Jupiter’s face, eyeing her daughter carefully before she sighed. “What _have_ you gotten yourself into this time?”

“ _Pozhaluysta?_ ”

She sighed again. “All right.”

Jupiter nodded, too nervous to smile at her mother as she took her hand and held it before turning to the rest of her family, raising her own voice to get their attention. “I promise I’ll explain in just a minute if _you all stop shouting!_ ”

That got them quiet, but only long enough for Vladie to complain again. Jupiter rolled her eyes, but tightened her hand on her mother when she heard the tell-tale clicking of the Keepers. When Karl materialized beside her, her mother’s hand clenched, nearly grinding the bones of her fingers together. Jupiter winced.

There was a sudden rush of sound – like several in-drawn breaths preparing to scream – then a flicker of green-blue light and an eerie quiet. When one of the Keepers moved toward Aleksa, Jupiter shifted slightly, getting Karl’s immediate attention.

“Not my mother, and not the three downstairs, if you please.”

Karl nodded and then tilted his head toward the others.

“Sit Lyudmilla on the couch in the living room, put _The Tonight Show_ on. Moltka and Mikka should be in bed. Leave the others where they are.”

Karl nodded and the others scrambled to finish. Jupiter backed out of the dining area into the dark hall behind the stairs, taking Aleksa with her. When all was set, Karl approached.

“Lady Jupe?”

She nodded. “Set one of yours to guard the stairs for tonight, I don’t want anyone interrupting. Inform Tweak that the ship is probably somewhere nearby. I doubt she flew in by herself.”

Karl nodded. “Shall leave Tweak and a squadron of Shadows to escort them anywhere Lady Jupe wishes them to go once done.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, listening to the sounds of her family becoming aware again. “Go join Caine for now, please.”

Karl nodded and disappeared. Literally.

Her mother sucked in a breath and glanced all around, before setting her jaw and staring at Jupiter once more. Jupiter wished she could erase the pale pallor from her skin and reassure her, but she had to do one more thing first.

“It’s late, I’m going to bed.” They could hear the chair scrape back and then Irena was walking through the hall to the stairs. She stopped when she saw Jupiter standing there. “Oh, when did you get home?”

“Just a few minutes ago.” Jupiter answered.

“And how was your date?”

She nodded. “It was good, thanks.”

Irena pointed a finger at her face. “You bring him by soon. We all want to meet him.”

“Is that Jupiter?” her uncle Vassily called from the dining room. “How was her date?”

“Ask her yourself!” Irena called back before giving them a tight smile and climbing the stairs.

Before the rest of her family could inundate her about her date, she called out, “I’m tired and we have an early morning tomorrow. Good night everyone.”

“ _Ch’emi marivena dzudzus_ ,” muttered Lyudmila.

“ _Bebia_ ,” Jupiter said back wryly, before heading for the stairs, dragging her mother with her. She stopped at the top and listened as her family finished what they were doing and climbed the stairs for bed. It was several minutes while they settled in, but Jupiter waited patiently; this was not something she needed them overhearing. When the creaking sounds of the house became loud in her ear, she turned to the small shimmer in the air.

“Watch them, make sure no one gets curious and interrupts us.”

Tweak materialized with a nod and a soft chatter, handing her a sheaf. She read it quickly and handed it back with a nod. “Send them to the apartment. Put them in one of the smaller bedrooms for the night. They can leave tomorrow. And please, fix their ship. I don’t want to have to provide them with one if I don’t have to. Let me know when it’s done and they’re secure.”

Tweak chittered unhappily but nodded again.

“Thank you, and good job.”

His chest swelled and his head lifted, but she didn’t stay to see it as she turned down the stairs.

“Jupiter-” her mother started.

“ _Podozhdite_ ,” she interrupted, pulling her into the small area that served as their private kitchen slash living area. There, she found Nino and Caine sitting on opposite sides of the small round table, arms crossed and set on the edge, staring at each other. Nino’s look was calculating. Caine had a slight smirk. Jupiter ignored what was sure to be an epic standoff in order to pay attention to her guest.

The parrot-splice was standing at the edge of the room, looking for all the world like she’d been tasked with picking up dog shit instead of delivering a message from her mistress to another Entitled. And she knew this tiny space beneath her uncle’s house must look like an actual-facts hovel compared to the lush richness of Kalique’s no doubt austere abodes, but Jupiter wasn’t about to take _anything_ from the creature who had literally upset her world for the second time.

“Sit,” she ordered the parrot-splice.

“Your Majesty,” the parrot-splice started.

“ _Sit_ ,” Jupiter repeated. “I’ll deal with you in a minute.”

The parrot-splice sat.

She really should find out her name. But she just didn’t care at that moment. She turned to the one thing in her life that she could count on in these situations. “Caine,” she called.

And he came, rising from his seat and abandoning the game he had going with Nino without a backwards glance to offer Jupiter his support. “Stinger and Kiza will be at the apartment tomorrow morning.”

“Good,” then, after a moment’s hesitation for her watching family, she stepped up against his chest.

Caine didn’t wait. He wrapped his arms around her and ducked his head. “It will be all right,” he whispered against her ear. “Business first, then I’ll take Lady Bow to the apartment so you can have all night to explain to your mother if you wish.”

“And if I don’t?”

He didn’t ask what she was unsure about. “Karl is on the counter right behind you, patiently obedient.”

Jupiter snickered and pulled back far enough to see his face. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Majesty.”

Before he could pull away, she stretched up onto her tiptoes and gave him a sweet kiss on his lips. “Stay.”

His complexion turned ruddy despite his wide smile as he repeated, “Of course, Majesty.”

She smiled back and then steeled herself, turning to look at her audience. Her mother and aunt both had their brows in their hairlines, but they stayed quiet, appeased for the moment by the coming explanation and, no doubt entertained by the show. The parrot-splice had her head down and an unhappy expression on her face.

“Lady Bow?”

The parrot-splice looked up and Jupiter got her first real look at the woman. Older than she’d first assumed, the woman was clothed head to toe in bright colors that gleamed. Her hair was not, in fact, hair but rather thin feathers shining a bright red and curled into fat ringlets to her shoulders. Her eyes were large and dark, the skin around them almost white. Her jacket hung to mid-thigh and was a darker red that complimented instead of clashed with her bright feather-hair. The high-necked blouse underneath was a vibrant blue-green, and her leggings were a buff leather. The shoes were delicate strappy things that looked horribly uncomfortable. Her jewelry and even her nails were all in bright gold’s and reds with accented blue and green stones.

“Your Majesty?” the parrot-splice asked.

Jupiter nodded. “What message does Lady Kalique think needs your personal visit through an Aegis blockade, onto a restricted planet, beyond Keeper controlled airspace, and into my family’s private home?”

Put like that, Jupiter wasn’t surprised to see the woman blanch before gathering her courage. She straightened her shoulders and reached into her jacket, pausing when she saw Caine reach into his own jacket. She moved slowly as she pulled out her hand holding a sheaf.

“My Lady wishes to give you a gift in apology for the actions of her family toward you.”

Jupiter raised her brows. “A gift.”

Lady Bow nodded, holding the sheaf out. “The planet Ardentis, Your Majesty.”

“A planet,” Jupiter’s voice flattened. “She’s _gifting_ me a planet.”

Lady Bow’s ears and hair-feathers flattened in the closest approximation to fear Jupiter had ever seen. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter waited for a beat before reaching forward to snatch the sheaf from Lady Bow’s still outstretched hand. The parrot-splice flinched back, but Jupiter was too annoyed with these peoples’ ideas of what constituted _morals_ to really care. An entire planet, for cripes’ sake. Were these people scheduled to be melted down into recode juice, too? She read the sheaf quickly, her brows climbing when she came across the words ‘sanctuary’ and ‘guardian.’ She started back at the beginning and read slower.

“Ardentis was marked as a sanctuary for any beings seeking asylum from discrimination by the terms of Seraphi’s Will?”

Lady Bow nodded, her jaw firmly clenched and her eyes wary.

“I’ve been given guardianship of the planet and named custodian of its residents and am required to take up residence for the period of one quarter for every term.” She stated before looking at Caine in question, “A term is about seven years, right?” At his silent nod she continued. “So I’m required to live there twenty-one months every seven years. Does that mean consecutively?”

Caine smirked. “You’d have to ask Stinger that one, Majesty.”

Jupiter sighed and went back to reading aloud. “It says the planet is home to Seraphi’s last _alcazar_. And that the city below the palace houses upwards of two-hundred thousand refugees but that the true population of the planet is unknowable without global scans because of the landscape.” She looked back at the parrot-splice. “Why should the landscape offer problems?”

Lady Bow grimaced. “Ardentis is a planet of extremes, Your Majesty. Vast steppes are bisected by deep, undercut canyons with swift rivers and steep mountain chains. What oceans the planet boasts are narrow and deep, their currents strong, their storms harsh. Only the hardiest of species thrive in those conditions.”

Jupiter stared for a long moment, trying to imagine an entire planet consisting of the Grand Canyon next to the Himalayas. No wonder it was hard to get an accurate body count.

Before she could say anything, Tweak trilled behind her. She turned to see him flash two fingers at Karl before circling his wrist and then clenching his fist. She glanced at Caine to see that he’d gotten the message as well before turning back to her ‘guest.’

“Lady Bow,” Jupiter started, “Thank you for bringing this gift. I’ll make sure to thank your Lady when next I see her, in the meantime Caine will take you to a suitable place to rest-”

“There’s no need, Your Majesty.” The parrot-splice interrupted, a slightly desperate look on her face as she eyed the room around her, no doubt thinking what was ‘suitable’ here was beneath her. “I’ll just go. I wouldn’t want to impose.”

Jupiter waited for a moment, to see if she would say anything else. When Lady Bow simply folded her hands, politely waiting to be dismissed, Jupiter continued. “A suitable place to rest until tomorrow morning where you and your two companions will be accompanied by the Aegis back to your Lady.” Lady Bow blanched and then grimaced before opening her mouth. Jupiter beat her to it. “And if you interrupt me again I’ll have your Lady fined, per Code and Conduct, which I’m sure she won’t appreciate. As it is I’m filing a report on your actions to personally hand to Lady Kalique’s aide, Maledictes, as I’m sure he didn’t authorize you to act as you have. Do you understand?”

Lady Bow gaped for a minute, her complexion turning sickly at the reality she now faced in carrying out Maledictes’ orders with too much zeal and too little respect. “Y-yes, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter nodded before turning and dismissing the woman from her mind entirely. When she turned to Caine, she was surprised to see the kind of approval on his face that she’d only ever received from her teachers in school and from Stinger when she’d done something surprising. When she lifted a brow in a silent _What?_ He only smiled and shook his head before stepping forward.

“Shall I escort Lady Bow to the apartment?”

Jupiter smiled, pleased as always that he seemed to know what she wanted. “Yes. And make sure all three are comfortable, will you?” she asked, knowing as she did, that her three guests would be stripped of any communication devices or weapons and left in Caine and Tweak’s protective care.

“Majesty,” he nodded, dipping his head to brush his lips against hers before lifting his gaze to the two women still standing silently behind the table. “Nino.” Then he grinned, tipped his head at Tweak and gestured for Lady Bow to take the stairs before him.

Jupiter waited until the back door to the house closed before she turned to Karl. “Guard the stairs, please. But stay close in case I need you.”

“Yes, Lady Jupe.” Karl shimmered into nothingness, but Jupiter knew he would do as she asked.

It was a moment before she could work up the courage to face her mother and aunt. And, when she did, she almost turned and ran after Karl from the stricken look on her mother’s face.

“Jupiter. What-? I don’t even…”

“Momma,” Jupiter started, only to be interrupted by her aunt.

“I like him.” Nino smirked, twisting to start the kettle on the small stove and then pulling three mugs down from the wooden rack on the counter. She plunked them down on the table before reaching under the sink for the bottle of vodka they kept there. “He’s a Scorpio, I can tell. Courageous, passionate, and intensely loyal.”

Jupiter sputtered and stared at her aunt in surprise. “Aunt Nino?”

Her aunt shrugged and poured a healthy amount of vodka into all three mugs. “He’ll be difficult, sure. Headstrong. But he’s good for you. Challenges you in ways you didn’t know you needed to be challenged, but I bet that boy would move mountains if it stood between the two of you.”

Jupiter sank into a chair with a muttered, “Or dive into hurricanes.”

Nino bobbed her head. “That, too. But he’s for you.” She suddenly reached across and grabbed Jupiter’s hand, holding tight and looking into her startled eyes. “All the rest can come, but I’m glad you found him. He’s for you,” she repeated.

Jupiter swallowed. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Of course you do,” Nino sat back, taking a healthy swallow of the vodka and sighing. “You were meant for a great love. I’ve always known it. The stars don’t lie.”

Jupiter almost giggled, but she hid it in her mug, taking a healthy swallow and letting the near-tasteless liquor burn away the coppery taste of fear from the back of her throat. As she swallowed, the kettle began to whistle and the three of them let silence fall as Aunt Nino prepared the tea. A good Russian black with a healthy dose of vodka to ward off the shock they were all no doubt feeling. Nino waited until they’d all taken a few sips before she set her mug on the table and leaned forward.

“Now,” she started. “How did you meet him?”

Jupiter glanced at her mother to see the hard lines of fear around her eyes had relaxed somewhat with the familiar ritual of tea and family. So she took a deep breath and began.

“You remember a few weeks ago when I didn’t come home and Vladie said it was because of what happened at the clinic? Well…”

She explains how Caine came to her rescue at the clinic. She describes as best she can the attack in Chicago and fleeing to Stinger. She shares the wonder at the revelations learned there and the fear of being kidnapped by hunters. Her confusion about being knocked out in a corn field and then waking up in luxury on another planet. She tries her best to relate the story of Seraphi Abrasax and how she is the woman’s genetic reincarnation. And then she explains, in horrifying detail, the process of Recoding and the requirements of Regen-X.

She answers their questions as best she can, but she knows only the barest information herself, and precious little at that.

After a refill of tea and vodka, Jupiter begins to talk about the Abrasax siblings. Speaking first of Kalique and her revelation about Jupiter’s ownership of the Earth. Then she talks of Titus, of her distrust and his lies. It’s hard for her to talk of her almost-marriage to a man who is technically her genetic descendant, but it is even harder to explain her reasons when she is confronted by her mother’s horror and her aunt’s disapproval.

Then, stiltedly, she talks of Balem and his threats. When she recounts her choice, she isn’t surprised to feel her eyes burning with tears, but she doesn’t look up, afraid she won’t be able to finish if she sees their faces. All the while there is Caine, coming ever to her rescue and nearly dying several times in the process. By the end of her story she is crying and so are her mother and aunt. To her surprise, they don’t yell at her. Instead, Aunt Nino grips her hands tight and her mother comes around the table to enfold her daughter in her arms, all the while crooning, “Oh, my precious daughter, _moya malen’kaya devochka._ ”

It takes a long time for Jupiter to gather herself again. When she does, she pulls her mother around until she can see both their faces.

“Now that you know,” She has to swallow down her fear before continuing. “Do you _want_ to know?”

Her aunt Nino frowns in confusion, but she can see as her mother pales and turns her face toward the stairs that she knows. But she has to make sure. “The Keepers can wipe your memory. Make it like this night never happened. You’ll go to sleep and wake up never knowing any of this and you’ll be as safe as I can make you.”

Aleksa focuses back on her daughter. “But you will know, you will be out there, dealing with all of this.”

Jupiter shrugged. “I can’t not, momma.” And she can see how much that temps her mother; to forget and go back to her simple but hard life.

But then Aleksa’s face hardens and her hand firms and she sends a look at Nino before turning back to her daughter. “Then I can’t not, either, my Jupiter.”

And just like that, all of Jupiter’s anxiety collapses and she has to hold back the hysterical giggles her relief is trying to form. She breathes deep and leans into the comforting hand on her back. When did she put her head on the table?

Her mother starts to call an early night, sighting the work they need to get done tomorrow. But after explaining to them both about the Keepers, and how she needs them at the apartment – “ _Just what apartment is this?_ ” – Aleksa writes out a detailed list of addresses and what needs to be done at each – “ _Just simple directions, momma, they live here, they speak English._ ” – Aunt Nino supplies another round of tea and vodka, this time the special bottle she had been saving in her things – “ _When in hell did you buy that?” Aleksa asks, indignant. “And with what money?_ ” – and Jupiter begins to answer their questions as completely as possible.

“What kind of government is it?” “What do you mean, they’re basically slaves?” “What the hell kind of economy is based on _that?_ ” “How many planets _are_ there?” “When you say ‘seeded’…?” “Why would you threaten a tax grievance?” For that one, Jupiter got up and retrieved her Code and Conduct sheaf, which started a whole new round of questions about their technology, which segued into a discussion about their medical technology and the heart of the issue; regeneration, Recoding and the means of doing it. “ _How_ do they get the recode juice out of human bodies?”

“I don’t know,” Jupiter mused. “I just know it takes about a hundred humans to create one canister of high-grade Regen-X, worth about four hundred fifty thousand C’s.”

Aleksa looked appalled. “Two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars per life…”

Jupiter smirked inwardly; she obviously got her math skills from her mother.

“Any society built on _Soylent Green_ will eventually collapse into itself.”

Both Aleksa and Jupiter looked at Aunt Nino in surprise.

Nino scoffed. “I may not be a math professor like someone else in this room, but I _did_ get a college degree in science.”

It was Aleksa’s turn to scoff. “Political Science is _not_ science.”

“No,” Nino agreed with a Gallic shrug. “It’s art with facts and statistics. At best it would be considered a soft science, but it is still useful in this case.”

Jupiter continued to stare. “How did I not know you had a college degree?”

Nino offered another shrug. “We don’t talk about our old life, and with good reason,” she eyed Aleksa carefully. “But maybe that should change now if we are to become advisors to a queen, eh?”

Aleksa eyed her back for a long moment before she started to talk. “During the Rurik Dynasty we Bolotnikovs were serfs and house slaves. During the Time of Troubles we were rebel rousers that fought and died in horrible ways for freedom. During the Romanov Dynasty we were members of the Sobors, councilors to the tsars and servants of the people. During the first Great War, we were Mensheviks. Lenin called us comrade as we brought about socialist reform, Stalin called us enemies within his regime and we became smugglers and protectors of Russian history. I was once a teacher, and now I clean houses. But always, we have served the people. I, for one, would be proud to be an advisor to my daughter, whatever she decides to do.”

Overwhelmed, Jupiter could do nothing but throw her arms around her mother and hold on.

Aleksa dipped her head and held her daughter close. “I’m here for you, always. But, _ya ne znayu chto delat’._ ”

“Trust me, momma.”

“That I do.”

It takes the rest of the night and into the grey hours of dawn, but they hash out a story to tell the rest of her family; a convincing lie filled with half-truths about an inheritance from her father, whose parents had been American diplomats in Russia at the time of Aleksa and Maximilian’s marriage. Because of Aleksa’s grief, they’d lost track of their daughter-in-law and only grandchild, and it had taken this long for the lawyers to find Jupiter and give her both the money from her grandparents and the money her father would have inherited.

“Is any of that true?” Jupiter asked quietly.

“Your grandparents were diplomats, but they died before I ever met your father. And there was never any money. But I’ve only ever told that to your aunt. My parents didn’t approve of Max because he wasn’t Russian, so they had very little to do with our marriage and our lives after. It made it easy to leave, to seek out my brother, who’d also left, and ask for help.”

Jupiter nodded, wrenching her thoughts from what-might-have-been’s to focus on the details. “I’ll have Karl draw up the necessary paperwork and get it delivered to the house so that uncle Vassily and the rest will believe.”

“Good,” her mother intoned. “And you let me take care of them, eh? You know the greedy vultures will want a piece, and don’t let them guilt or bully you into giving them anything; they may have taken us in and allowed us to live here, but they’ve made us pay for every second of it.”

“But I’d like to pay uncle Vassily back the money I owe hm.”

“Do that,” her mother nodded. “That’s good. But remember that he’ll be more upset about losing workers to clean his houses than he’ll be about his family moving out. I love my brother,” Aleksa admonished at Jupiter’s look. “But I don’t lie to myself about the kind of man he is. To him, family means you pay.”

“But you don’t sell your family like chicken,” Nino put in.

Both older women burst into laughter, chortling into their cups as Jupiter looked on in fond confusion, knowing she’d missed something.

“The telescope?” Jupiter wasn’t sure what she was asking.

“We all pitched in for that, Jupe. You don’t think he could have paid for that with the money we make for him?” Nino scoffed. “The only reason he allowed that was because he was feeling guilty for Vladie’s actions, and you better believe he took his portion out of Vladie’s accounts, what little that lout has left.”

“This paperwork,” Aleksa started.

Jupiter nodded, knowing where she was going. “I’ll have Karl stay after the meeting today, and you can tell him to get whatever kind of paperwork you want.”

“My degrees, from Saint Petersburg?”

Jupiter nodded. “Aunt Nino’s, too.”

Her mother reached across the table and covered Jupiter’s hand with her own. “A birth certificate for you? So you can go to college like you wanted?”

Jupiter almost burst out laughing. “I don’t think that’s the goal anymore, momma, but yes. I have birth certificates from every country, apparently, because I have bank accounts and business holdings in all of them. It’s a way for the Keepers to track the population.”

“And to control it?” Nino asked with a shrewd look.

“Probably,” Jupiter shrugged. “They’re like shepherds, keeping the flock from destroying themselves.”

“But keeping the tensions high enough that the flock grows,” Nino muttered, then blinked at the twin looks of confusion she was given. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. People always come home and have babies after a war. You said yourself, Jupiter, they’re growing us like livestock, and intelligent livestock requires the added level of psychology as a control. You don’t think we would have stabilized our population long ago if we weren’t constantly fighting ourselves over resources or religion?”

Jupiter cursed before turning toward the stairs. “Karl?”

Karl shimmered into view on the bottom step. “Yes, Lady Jupe?”

Jupiter ignored the twin gasps behind her to focus on the little alien. “Is any of that true?”

His shoulders rounded at her disapproving tone. “Yes, Lady Jupe.”

“Can I change it?”

Karl nodded. “Yes, Lady Jupe.”

“Good, gather who I need to talk to and have them brought to the apartment tomorrow. Can you do that for me?”

His appearance lifted as he realized he wasn’t going to be punished in any way. “Shall have them all for you by mid-afternoon.”

“Good, also,” She gestured behind her. “This is my mother Aleksa and my Aunt Nino. Give them anything they ask for.”

Karl came forward with a birdlike bob of his head. “Grand Duchess Aleksa and Duchess Nino,” then he tapped on his sheaf until a familiar picture with different kinds of bands came up before offering it.

“Grand Duchess,” murmured Aleksa before she gingerly took the sheaf from Karl.

Nino smirked. “Don’t let Vassily know he’s a Duke; we’ll never live that down.”

“Or Vladie?”

“Vladie!” Nino chortled. “What about Irena?”

Both women groaned while Jupiter snickered before she gestured to the sheaf and explained, “Choose which one you like; it’s a wrist band and allows you to contact people on their network.”

Both Nino and Aleksa took their time picking bands. While they looked, Jupiter pulled the list her mother had made and gave it to Karl. “I need you to send a squad to clean these addresses, I’ll leave it up to you whether it’s a training exercises or punishment.”

He moved his head in what she was coming to recognize as amusement before taking the list from her. “Perhaps a bit of both, Lady Jupe?”

Jupiter smirked before glancing at the clock. She got up and started the coffee while explaining what she needed from Karl.

He bobbed his head once he understood. “Shall be delivered today, Lady Jupe.”

“Thank you, Karl. You can go now, it’s about time for everyone to start waking up.”

He bobbed his head once more, collected the sheaf and her mother and aunt’s choice in bands, promising to have them waiting at the apartment, and then shimmered away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Pozhaluysta? - Please? (as an interjection, like 'please, if I may')  
> Ch’emi marivena dzudzus - my left tit (I imagined that Irena's mother Lyudmila was Georgian instead of mainland Russian)  
> Bebia - grandmother (so Jupiter would have grown up with a bit of both languages in her head)  
> Podozhdite - Wait  
> moya malen’kaya devochka - my little girl  
> ya ne znayu chto delat’ - I don't know what to do


	7. Interlude III: Sidírou Yfalo in the Este System

Darshina Howland leaned back against her hover couch and pondered the wave she’d just received. It wasn’t often someone needed the use of the FTL out here, away from the big cities, but Darshina had known for several years that she would be rejoining her sisters soon and made arrangements for the long-distance communications device to be delivered nearly three decades ago. Things were happening, even then and she recognized the signs. She’d been alive too long, lived through too many lifetimes to ignore them now. The wave from The Well of Tears merely confirmed her suspicions.

“Alcazar,” she called.

“ _Yes, Sister Howland?_ ”

“Get me everything you can find on Jupiter Jones, the Signified Recurrence of Seraphi Abrasax.”

“ _Downloading the data now. Would you prefer it on a sheave or should I read it aloud to you?_ ”

“A sheave, please.”

“ _Of course._ ”

She thought back to the recorded message sent from Mother Jiro. “ _…zero point zero zero two five…_ ” For genealogical geneticists, that close was nearly unheard of. A percentage of just point zero one carried genetic memories and could, with practice, recall important and traumatic events from the life previous. This may very well be the closest they will ever come to true reincarnation.

“Alcazar?”

“ _Yes, Sister Howland?_ ”

“Get me everything you can on the early history of Seraphi Abrasax, before her first millennium.”

“ _Specify please, Her Majesty Seraphi Abrasax, First Prime of House Brasax, the Signified Recurrence of Phaedra Yon?_ ”

“What?”

“ _Specify_ -”

“I _heard_ you,” Darshina barked, still reeling from the implications. “And yes, download everything to my personal sheave.”

“ _Of course._ ”

She knew the name, though it took her a moment to wrest the information from her history lessons as a child. Lady Phaedra of the House of Yon had been integral to the Splicing Guild during the Clone Wars when the warring factions had seized the process of clone-regeneration from the Sisterhood. It was she who helped develop the process to eliminate waste from Harvesting, producing viable ‘Recode Juice’ and enabling the Guild to thrive as the healers they are today. Her actions in the Battle of Brasax effectively ended the Clone Wars. Her house founded the civilization of Cleta on Caelo IV, the homeworld of the House of Abrasax. She’d been murdered only a few hundred years later in the beginning of the Civil Wars. Seraphi Abrasax had been born near the end of the Civil Wars, more than ten thousand years later.

Now, after a mere thousand years for a recurrence of such closeness… Darshina wondered if this was more than chance. Seraphi was no slouch when it came to genetics. A faithful follower, it would have been relatively easy for someone of her skills to plant the seeds of her own return. Of course, than meant she would have had to know she was going to die.

It made her wonder.

“Alcazar? What of the early history of Phaedra Yon?”

“ _Specify please, Lady Phaedra Cleta, Second Lady of the House of Yon, the Signified Recurrence of Marta Anular?_ ”

Darshina gaped. But only for a moment. “Alcazar, I’m going to need a transport. Ready the Bracera for travel and arrange transport with the Aegis.”

“ _Of course. Shall I arrange for the rest of your companions to travel with you?_ ”

Darshina looked out the window to her front lawn where her four young companions were lolling in the thick grass of the lawn. “Yes, as well as crew for the _Ydrasil_ and two caretakers. Preferably Synthetics.”

“ _Of course_.”

“In the meantime, I’m going to need you to do quite a bit of in-depth research, all to be downloaded to my private servers.”

“ _Of course, Sister Howland_.”


	8. Event Horizon: Part II

Getting out of the house and headed toward her new apartment was easy. Convincing her mother and aunt to let her handle things during this upcoming meeting was the hard part. Now that they knew the bare bones of what had been going on with her these past few weeks, they wanted to dive right in; giving her advice on situations and how to deal with people. Jupiter finally distracted both of them by offering her sheaves and asking that they become experts on the Code and Conduct and the Imperial economy so that she could begin to navigate it. On the drive to her apartment, she contacted Captain Tsing and requested as much information about Ardentis as she could get her hands on before asking that she join her at the apartment.

Nino came up with the idea of feeding all these people. Jupiter offered her black credit card and, remembering Caine’s reactions to certain foods, offered the advice, “Easily recognized food, Aunt Nino, most of these people have never visited a seeded planet let alone sampled the local cuisine. Maybe Mediterranean? From that Greek place you like. See if they deliver.”

She directed the station wagon into the underground parking lot, and got out of the car with a sigh of relief. Introducing her mother and aunt to security Guy and watching them both control the _deeply_ sarcastic eye rolls was going to be the highlight of her day, she could tell. After getting them logged in as permanent tenants and a set of keys and parking passes for them both she led them to the elevator and hit the button for the top floor.

It wasn’t until she opened the door and saw Caine standing there, leaning against the entrance, his arms crossed over his chest and his wings unfolded but tucked back, that she realized how much his mere presence calmed her. As she walked forward, she marveled at the way he made a place for her by dropping one arm, taking her hand and pulling her into his side, under a wing.

“Hi, Caine.”

He smiled down at her, tucking her close and nuzzling her temple before his gaze flicked over her shoulder. “How did your talk go?”

“Better than I’d hoped,” Jupiter sighed out. “Now it’s just an issue of directing their helpfulness.”

He chuckled lightly. “Your Majesty does tend to gather followers wherever she goes.”

“A useful trait, as I’ll need all the help I can get.” Jupiter glanced around the entranceway, noting the changes accomplished by the Keepers. “Where are Stinger and Kiza?”

Caine glanced upwards. “Just landing now.”

That was the other thing that had sold her on this particular apartment; roof access. “Oh good,” she hummed.

When Caine stiffened slightly beside her, she glanced up to see her mother walking toward them. The way both her aunt Nino and mother were eyeing Caine, she realized that they were both taking in the reality of her boyfriend being not just from another planet, but part different species. With his wings out, she also realized the conclusions they might be drawing about some of their planet’s religions.

Her mother stopped in front of them. “Caine Wise?”

Caine tilted his head slightly, a very canine-like gesture. “Yes, ma’am.”

Before Jupiter could say anything, her mother was wrapping her arms around Caine’s shoulders. She noticed his aborted jerk – what must he have been expecting? – before he relaxed, as much as he could, into the embrace. It wasn’t until he lifted a hand and stiltedly patted her mother on the shoulder that she pulled back enough to see his face.

“ _Spasibo_ ,” her voice was hoarse and her eyes slightly red as she took her hands off his shoulders and framed his face. “ _Spasibo za spaseniye moyev docheri._ ”

To her surprise, Caine relaxed, loosening his shoulders with a slight smile. “ _Pozhaluysta_.”

Jupiter’s eyes widened but before she could say anything, her aunt Nino was coming forward to give her own greeting to Caine. And to her even bigger surprise, Caine returned the greeting, bending to hug the shorter woman and even teasing her about ‘some of those big revelations’ they’d talked about.

_When had her aunt and boyfriend talked?_

And then Stinger arrived and Jupiter was being hugged by Kiza while Caine introduced Nino and Aleska and before she knew what was really happening, they had moved into the living area. Jupiter watched as her mother and Stinger hugged, no doubt her mother thanking him as well, before they fell into conversation. Caine was answering the pointed questions Nino fired at him with an indulgent smile. And Kiza was trying to distract her by pointing out all the new furniture and fixtures that the Keepers had set up, here and at their bee farm.

Jupiter let the comfort of it wash over her as she took in the apartment. The shag carpet had been removed and all the modern furniture replaced by classic looking pieces in dark wood and rich fabrics. The white-washed walls had been repainted a warm cream and was offset by tasteful pieces of art in every style and from every culture including a small stone sculpture that looked Aztec in origin and a watercolor of ballerinas that she really, really hoped was a print and not a real Degas. From where she stood at the window, she could see the pale kitchen cabinets and the dark stone counters, the new, gleaming fixtures and the bright copper pans. The dining room held a solid looking wooden table and delicate wooden chairs with navy blue cushions. The blue color was repeated in the floor rug in the living room, its lush pile decorated in gold swirls and cream flowers. The couch was long and low, dark wood and warm brown suede, jewel-toned pillows and cushions thrown haphazardly. The library, she could see, had been stripped, repainted a dark, burnished red, and the walls lined with bookshelves in mahogany. The edge of a desk and the rich gold upholstery of a wingback chair could just be glimpsed.

The shelves were mostly empty, but as she watched, another Keeper shimmered into appearance and placed three more large books on the lower shelves before disappearing again. And there, on a side table against the wall, sat a record player, top of the line from _Bose_ , disguised to look like an antique gramophone from the 1920’s with dark wood, mother of pearl inlay on the delicately carved wood side-panels, silver metal works, crank, and a dark-polished, fluted brass horn. She knew because it was the same one she’d been eyeing online last night while getting ready for her date with Caine.

Had the Keepers taken these ideas from her internet search history?

“Your Majesty?”

Jupiter turned, startled to realize that she and Stinger were the only ones left in the living room. Caine and her mother were in the kitchen, pulling down dishes and talking in low voices, though he kept glancing in her direction as though checking on her. But her aunt Nino and Kiza were nowhere to be found.

“They went to get lunch from some Greek place.”

She turned to him, startled for an instant to think that maybe they were just reading her thoughts.

A corner of Stinger’s mouth lifted, “No, Majesty, human telepathy still isn’t a real thing.”

She gaped at him. “Then how-?”

He chuckled. “You were looking around, I’d assumed for your aunt and my daughter. It was obvious you haven’t heard a word of what’s been said for the last half hour.”

“That long?” she glanced around the apartment again, before hugging herself. “Though I suppose it’s not a very long time for a race that can rebuild entire cities in just a few hours. I was wondering how they knew to design the apartment this way.”

“Which way?”

“Just like I imagined.”

“Ah,” Stinger nodded, as if confirming something in his own mind. “Well, Keepers are not human, Majesty.”

She glanced sharply at his face. “What do you mean?”

“It’s instinctive for them,” he gestured to the apartment. “They’re becoming in tune with your wants and needs. They’re the perfect servant, not seen or heard, but they want to please. Like bees, they follow a leader, no questions asked, they crave it. But unlike bees, who use mostly pheromones to communicate, Keepers operate on a more mental wavelength.”

“Telepathy?”

“Something very like,” Stinger admitted with a shrug, his wings flicking out in an extension of the movement. “Although I’m not sure it’s true mental communication, it’s more instinctual than that.”

“Why me?” She shook her head at herself. “No, stupid question. How?”

Stinger shrugged again. “Karl, and to a greater extent, Tweak.”

“Tweak? But I don’t even really talk with him.”

He nodded. “Exactly, but you communicate your wants and needs and he understands you perfectly.”

She thought about how easy it seemed to get her meaning across to Tweak, despite how she couldn’t understand him, and how he sometimes looked confused at her words. “Huh, is that how they did this in one day?” At his nod she took a deep breath and decided to roll with it. “Okay.”

Something chimed and Stinger glanced at his wrist band before catching Caine’s gaze and giving a brief nod. “The Aegis transport just broke atmo. Captain Tsing and Lieutenant Cofe will be arriving soon.”

Jupiter glanced down at her jeans and tee and wondered if she cared to get changed before deciding that it didn’t really matter. She wasn’t trying to make an impression today, just get as much information as she could. Thinking about the Aegis had her thinking about Lady Bow and the other two the Shadows had captured last night.

“My guests?” Jupiter asked.

“Sitting quietly and awaiting your pleasure with a cadre of Shadows as guard, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter smiled at his pleased tone. “All right, leave them there until the Aegis is ready to leave,” She glanced around until she spotted a familiar shimmer and directed her voice toward it. “Then I want both rooms thoroughly cleaned. My mother and aunt didn’t sleep at all last night and I’m sure they could use the rest.”

“Very good, Your Majesty,” Stinger smirked. “You’re taking to your position much easier than most.”

Jupiter shrugged. “It’s that or run screaming out into the streets. This way is less work.”

“Ah, I see,” Stinger’s smirked widened into a grin. “Laziness.”

With a buzz of wings, he darted off toward the door before she could swat at him. Captain Tsing entered, followed by Lieutenants Chatterjee and Cofe, Officer Percadium, and three others Jupiter didn’t recognize. Caine came out of the kitchen to stand at her left shoulder, followed by her mother who took a seat on the chair to her right, a cup of hot tea in her hands. As Caine took position, his right wing reached out to graze her shoulder and hip, much like someone would touch with their hand, an assurance of presence. Jupiter gave him a grateful smile before turning to the Aegis.

After greeting Jupiter, Diomika Tsing lifted a hand to the three new people. “May I introduce my CMO, Anna Host? She’s the one who took care of you and your family after the Jupiter platform incident.”

Caine leaned forward, whispering, “Chief Medical Officer,” in her ear.

Jupiter nodded absentmindedly before offering a smile. “I remember now, thank you for taking such good care of us.”

Anna Host nodded and lifted a small black case. “I was told you were getting a com-link today?”

“Were you?” Jupiter’s brows lifted and she turned to meet Stinger’s gaze over her mother’s shoulder. Stinger’s lips thinned but he didn’t look away. When she turned back it was to see Host exchanging worried glances with Tsing. “I would like to talk to you about it, but later. Can you stay for lunch?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. I’m delighted to be of service.” Host relaxed.

With a heavy glance at Stinger, Tsing gestured to the two other people with her. “Dale, my security officer, here to escort your guests from this sector, and Fleur Quince, new Marshal for the Aegis now that the old one has a new job.”

Jupiter greeted both before glancing at her mother, a brow lifted. As much as her aunt and mother had willingly jumped in, Jupiter still wasn’t going to presume; this was her mother’s decision. Aleska gave a slight nod and Jupiter sucked in breath.

“And this is my mother, Aleska Jones.”

Her mother didn’t stand, but nodded her head and greeted those that called her ‘Grand Duchess’ with a gentle smile. She could see her mother’s exhaustion in the tension in her shoulders; the day and night before were taking their toll. Jupiter just hoped her mother and aunt would last through lunch, and then she could see them to their new bedrooms before dealing with the rest of it.

Speaking of, Nino and Kiza arrived, laden with bags, some steaming, all smelling of rich, savory food. Hungry and intrigued almost everyone helped sort the containers onto the countertops, with piles of napkins, silverware, and dishes for everyone to grab. Jupiter wasn’t surprised to find that the heavy oak table had extra leaves in the closet to allow for more space. Caine and Stinger pulled some chairs from the library and made do.

Jupiter was handed a plate piled high with her favorites and shown the seat at the head of the table. Too hungry and too tired to do much else besides make sure everyone had something to eat, including having plates sent to her ‘special guests,’ she dug into her tzatziki and pita bread, roasted mushrooms and grilled salmon wrap.

The good food and quiet conversation lulled her into a sense of contentment she hadn’t known in a long time. At the other end of the table she could hear Nino asking Chatterjee and Host about the Commonwealth and the economy. Nearby, she listened as her mother, Stinger and Captain Tsing spoke of their duties and responsibilities. On her left, Caine and Kiza were quizzing Fleur Quince about her new homestead in France. After the food, everyone helped clean up before wandering back into the living room, drifting with the conversation. Before long, Jupiter found herself standing before the windows, looking out into the Chicago skyline.

“Majesty,” Caine’s gentle tone brought her attention back. She noticed he’d subtly pulled her aside. “Karl is here with a contingent of agents. Where do you want them to meet you?”

“Already?” Jupiter glanced around, noticing the way everybody had arranged themselves around her. “He said they wouldn’t be here until around noon.”

Caine glanced at the clock in the entranceway as she did, noting that it was already half past.

Jupiter cursed, drawing the attention of those nearby, including her mother’s admonishing gaze. Jupiter flushed before clearing her throat and denying the urge to elbow Caine as he silently laughed at her. “Momma, will you take care of everyone? I don’t know how long this is going to take.”

“Of course, my Jupiter.” Aleska nodded her head before turning to look at Nino. “Do we have coffee? Tea?”

Nino stood. “I’ll find out.”

“Stinger?” Jupiter caught his eye before heading to the library. He nodded, said a quiet word to Kiza, and followed.

When the doors slid closed, Karl, Tweak and seven other Keepers shimmered into view. Tweak came forward with a sheaf, and Jupiter took it with a new understanding of how the Keepers and Shadows related to her. “Thank you, Tweak.”

He bobbed his head and gave a pleased rill before stepping back and taking up position behind Karl’s left shoulder. It reminded her of how Caine always took that position, and she wondered at its significance. Glancing at Stinger and noting his position at her right shoulder, she would be sure to ask him about it later.

Jupiter read the sheaf quickly, taking careful note of the positions the Keepers occupied in around the world. One, named Chang, was on NATO’s World Security Council. Another, Kara, was assistant to a Russian diplomat here in America. A third and fourth occupied very public positions of standing within the Catholic and Islamic churches. The fifth was a CFO for one of the top three technological businesses in the world. The sixth was a US Senator, the seventh a minister of finance to a prominent European country. Only seven, but they occupied positions near or beneath those who governed the world powers or were in a business that had enough sway to influence laws. Each one had a network of assistants, clerks, informants, reporters and publicists to help them carry out whatever task would help their goal of growing the population.

She didn’t bother reading the list of their ‘accomplishments.’ Jupiter was sure it wouldn’t help her frame of mind to know what incidents had been true human endeavor, and which had been manufactured.

Setting the sheaf carefully on the desk, she eyed the seven Keepers before her. Caine’s steady presence behind her was a soothing balm, but she wished she had someone here who knew what the heck she was doing, because at this point, she was sort of making it up as she went.

“From this moment forward,” She started, addressing them cautiously. “You are no longer to grow the population for harvest. I want all actions towards that goal disregarded. Understand?”

There was a moment of strained silence before one of them shifted and chittered nervously, directing what could only be a worried question to Karl.

Jupiter didn’t wait for a translation, she could guess what that was about. “No, you’re not being removed from the planet. Yes, you will continue on as Keepers, at least until I can get sovereign status of this planet.” At that, several of them erupted into worried noises, and from their tones, Jupiter knew what they were worried about. “No, I won’t be getting rid of you anytime soon. And I’m sure I can find something else of a similar nature for you all to do.”

Another of the Keepers spoke up in a questioning rill.

“Just… help stabilize the population. My goal now is to make this planet viable for the long-term. I’m thinking one day of applying to the Commonwealth. Hopefully within my lifetime; but I’d rather this planet be set on that course than not.”

There was a knock on the door then, which Stinger answered, sliding it open only long enough to hear the delivered message before he nodded and slid the doors closed again. At Jupiter’s questioning look, he answered, “Tsing is ready to escort your guests whenever she has your leave.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Jupiter nodded before turning back to the Keepers with a brow raised.

Karl stepped forward at that point. “Are all assignments understood?” When he got a unified nod, he turned to Jupiter. “Is there anything else Lady Jupe requires?”

“Thank you, Karl. And yes, one last thing. My mother wishes to speak to you about obtaining her degrees from Saint Petersburg. Please give her all the paperwork she requests.” Jupiter nodded at Tweak. “Will you be accompanying my guests aboard the Aegis ship?”

Tweak nodded and clicked at her.

Jupiter smiled. “Good, thank you.” Then she turned to look at Caine. “Can you think of anything else?”

He shook his head with a slightly stunned expression. Jupiter kept one eye on him and another on the departing Keepers, waiting until Stinger closed the door, a similarly astounded expression on his face before she asked them both, “What? What’s with the look?”

Caine cocked his head, a very dog-like trait as his eyed her. “Does Your Majesty… um. Do…” he looked at Stinger for help.

“Do you realize that none of those Keepers were speaking English?”

Jupiter blinked. “What? Of course they were.” She looked back and forth between them. “Weren’t they?”

Caine shook his head.

“But I heard Karl, he spoke just as clearly as you are now.”

“But not in English,” Stinger argued. “They were speaking Diaridian. Something our com-links don’t translate because it’s a mash of clicks, hisses, and something a little more mental.”

She shrugged. “So, okay. You said it was some mind-thing earlier. That they were coming to understand me because of Tweak and Karl.”

“Understand you,” Stinger pointed out. “Not the other way around.” Then he got a weird look on his face. “It takes years of regular contact for Keepers and those they obey to develop the kind of relationship you’ve already shown, and decades before an owner even begins to understand them. I’ve never heard of someone doing it as quickly as you have, let alone without _realizing_ it.”

Jupiter stared. “So what does this mean?”

“I’m not sure, Your Majesty,” Stinger shifted on his feet, his wings rustling behind him. “I was just stating the obvious.”

She turned to see Caine still eyeing her with a faint look of awe. “And you? What do you think?”

Suddenly, he grinned. “Your Majesty _has_ been awake for nearly thirty-four hours, two of which were spent learning to surf on grav-boots for the first time.”

“Oh, you think you’re funny.” She glared.

He raised his hands and took a step back in surrender, but his wings were still high behind his shoulders. When she turned back to Stinger, his body language was equally unrepentant. “And you.”

“Majesty?” Stinger lifted a brow, the corner of his lip turning up in a smirk.

“I need you both to be aware of something. I have _had_ _it_ with people making decisions for me.” Both splices flinched at the obvious rage in her tone. “My mother when I was young; homeschooling me despite my wanting to go to public school because she was afraid with my lack of birth certificate that I would be caught and deported. My uncle in the last few years, telling me what I could and couldn’t do with the money I earned for him because he didn’t want to see me get hurt. This whole entitled thing with my genetic children playing confidence games. You _both_ keeping things from me. The only one who told it to me straight was Balem, and that was because he was trying to kill his mother _again_.”

She took a breath and took in their faces. Caine was cowed with a side of whipped dog, like he was ashamed he’d taken any kind of initiative and Jupiter wondered if she would have to talk to him about _that_. Stinger, on the other hand, was just this side of mutinous.

“Your Majesty,” Stinger started, a mulish look on his young face. “You’ve contracted us as your security. And as such your safety is our highest priority-”

“I know,” she started.

“Everything I do is to keep you safe and I’m not about to stop just because your feelings might get hurt-”

“Stinger!” The bee-splice flinched and turned aside, like he was expecting to be struck. Jupiter took another breath and didn’t dare to look at Caine, who was hardly _breathing_. “I _know_. I know it was all done to protect me. I know my family had the best of intentions. I know both you and Caine didn’t speak up because you either thought I wouldn’t understand or didn’t want to hurt me-” Caine suddenly deflated like he’d been nervous she really didn’t understand his motives. “I understand why you invited Host, but I’m done letting other people make those kind of decisions for me. Do you understand? I’m _done_.”

“Majesty-” Stinger started again, but Jupiter really was done.

“Consult me first. I trust both of you-” she caught Stinger’s startled expression. “Really. I know you’re trying to protect me, and I’ll _let_ you _._ But clear it with me first. Got it?”

“If I’ve got to run every little decision by you I’ll never-”

Jupiter snorted. “Yeah right. We’ll work out the particulars eventually. I’m not that much of a masochist. Don’t even try. But until we get to the point where you _know_ what I want because we’ve talked about it, _run things by me_.”

At her side, Caine nodded quickly, a faint whine under his breath. Stinger though, held her gaze and Jupiter understood that this wasn’t the kindly bee-farmer she’d first met. This was the Legionnaire Captain who led an elite squad of Skyjackers and she held his gaze and _kept holding it_.

After a long moment, Stinger nodded and lowered his own eyes, conceding more than just this issue. And as suddenly as Jupiter felt ten feet tall and on top of the world, she felt just as exhausted.

“Good. I’m going to bed.” she turned away from them and walked to the connected hall. At the door that led to her master bedroom, she turned back. “Please make my excuses to the Aegis and Captain Tsing, will you? And see that my mother and aunt are shown to their rooms for their own rest?”

“And Host?” Stinger asked, eyes downcast.

“You invited her, you entertain her,” when Stinger grimaced, she relented. “Ask if she’ll stay for dinner. I’ll talk to her about getting a com-plant then.”

“Yes, Majesty.”

She took a step back, keeping her eyes on Caine and whispered, knowing he’d hear her, “Join me when you can?”

His expression cleared and he gave a short nod then followed Stinger back into the living area. Jupiter turned and walked into her dream bedroom.

The walls were painted pale peach, the furniture a dark-polished wood, the fabric vibrant red. To the left, a door led out onto a wide balcony, and a long bay window showed the Chicago skyline. In the morning, the sun would light up the room if she left the curtains open. An open doorway led to a walk-thru closet and into a bath with a sectioned toilet area and a large, Jacuzzi-style tub. She couldn’t wait to try that one out. Three frames hung on the walls in the bedroom, a print of van Gogh’s _Starry Night_ , an edited print of the planet Jupiter and her four Galilean moons, and an enlarged photograph from the Hubble telescope focused on a star forming in the Chameleon Cloud.

Jupiter stood for longer than she liked to admit, staring at that particular photograph and listening to the goings on in the other room.

* * *

Aleska watched as her daughter’s two ‘guards’ came out of the room without her, still listening with half an ear as Karl – the _alien_ who now obeys her daughter – confirmed the papers; degrees and naturalization certificates; she wanted. Really, she was still reeling from the idea that her little girl wasn’t just hers anymore; that she’d been in outer space; that her life had been upended and threatened multiple times; that she’d nearly gotten _married_ ; and that she owned the Earth.

Which bears repeating.

Her daughter, Jupiter, _owned_. The _Earth_. And was _Queen_ to whole sectors of the galaxy.

And that this wolf-man angel had not only saved her life, more than once, but had become so important to her daughter that Jupiter was willing to take up the mantle of said Queen in order to be worthy in his eyes. Oh, she wasn’t naïve to the worshipful looks Caine gave her daughter when Jupiter wasn’t looking, but neither was she ignorant to the way her daughter seemed to orientate herself to wherever he was standing.

Aleska stayed back and watched as Stinger and Caine brought out the Lady Bow and two others, only one that looked human. The other was a black man with bright-colored scales along his cheekbones, jaw, over the center of his skull and down the back of his neck. The three were treated kindly, though Lady Bow had an air of defeat about her, and Captain Tsing eyed them all with sardonic disappointment, as though she expected more. They weren’t cuffed; weren’t held in any way other than their presence and the presences of Lieutenant Chatterjee, Cofe, Officers Dale and Percadium. She wondered if they were kept by some other means she couldn’t see, or if they were truly honor-bound to see their sentence carried out.

If so, she had much higher hopes for this universe than her daughter’s encounters with the few Entitled interested in her existence had painted.

Kiza and Nino stayed in the kitchen while everyone else went out into the hall and up to the roof. When they disappeared from her sight, if not her mind, the muscles along her shoulders relaxed. It was one thing to _know_ about people from other planets, and another thing entirely to be surrounded by them so much that _she_ , being perfectly normal and human, was the odd one out. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the splices or the android that made her nervous, but the human Tsing and Percadium with their cybernetic implants that unsettled her the most.

It wasn’t until Kiza came out of the kitchen saying something about the Keepers cleaning and setting their rooms to right that Aleska realized how tired she was.

She looked at Nino. “Our rooms?”

Kiza nodded. “Yes, Lady Jupe bought this apartment specifically because it had the three separate bedrooms. She wanted you each to have your own seeing as how you three have been sharing one since she was little.”

Nino smiled. “Our little Jupiter has thought if everything. You want to see?”

“Of course,” Aleska set down her tea and followed as Kiza gave them a brief tour.

“The two bedrooms are connected by a full bath; your door is through the kitchen and Nino’s is through the small hall off the dining room.” It was Nino’s room they went to first. The walls were painted a dark, hunter green. The furniture was a dark wood and the twin bedframe and lamp were gleaming brass. Bare but for the basics, it was exactly to Nino’s tastes. A door led out to the balcony that ran outside the dining room and Aleska could see Nino filling the patio with herbs and plants, as she’s always longed to. Another door led the bathroom.

“Lady Jupe had these redone when she bought the place, making sure all the piping was new and classic looking. She knew neither of you would appreciate the modern look the place held before.”

The washroom was painted a mint green and boasted two separate sinks connected by pale marble. The wall above had two vanity mirrors with a medicine cabinet between. Behind a door leading to a separate bath painted in pale peach, was a new toilet and tiled shower. But what surprised her was the floor to ceiling window in the shower that showed them twenty-seven stories up.

“It’s filtered glass,” Kiza stated after seeing the skeptical glance Nino and Aleska gave each other. “Means you can see out, but no one can see in.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Nino huffed. “No one wants to see my bare ass.”

“Nino!” Aleska scolded while Kiza broke into delighted laughter.

“What? It’s true!”

Aleska just shook her head while Kiza led them into the second bedroom, still giggling. Where the first bedroom suited Nino perfectly, this second bedroom suited Aleska perfectly. Painted lush rose red, with pink and gold fabrics, the furniture was a pale pine and the fixtures brass. There was a small, private balcony through a sliding glass door, and Aleska could easily see a set of chairs and a small table where she and Nino would relax and talk after a long day. She could see just how it would look once she’d moved all her things into this place.

Nino led them back into the kitchen, talking about the herb garden she wanted to start and all the meals she would introduce to them. Aleska was surprised, though she shouldn’t have been, to see Stinger and Caine in the living room with the Aegis doctor, Anna Host. She’d caught the exchange between Jupiter and Stinger and wondered at it. Jupiter had always been a bit of a pushover until lately. Maybe it had something to do with her adventures in space? Something, perhaps knowing just how many lives were in her hands, had changed her daughter. Now, when before Jupiter had allowed Vladie to talk her into giving up her eggs, she would barely trust the time of day from his lips. In some ways her daughter had finally grown up and become her own woman. In other ways… Aleska eyed Caine and the way his eyes kept straying toward her daughter’s room while the three of them talked in the living room. Well, in other ways her daughter had grown up and she wasn’t sure it was all good.

With a tired smile and a hug, Nino retired to her room, asking to be woken for dinner. Aleska stayed in the kitchen, nursing her cup of tea and watching the interactions between Stinger and his daughter Kiza, how they included Caine and very subtly excluded the doctor. She wondered at that, as well, seeing as it was apparent that Stinger was the one who had invited her.

After a few minutes and another glance at Jupiter’s door, Kiza said something that caused Caine to flush and throw a pillow at her. She and Stinger laughed as he stood. It wasn’t until he turned toward the hall that led to Jupiter’s room, that Aleska understood what was going on. She straightened away from the counter and started to move to intercept Caine when Stinger was suddenly in her way.

“Get out of my way,” she commanded, angrily glaring at the guilty look Caine flashed her before he ducked into the hall.

“No,” Stinger gave her a frustrated look when she continued to try and get past him. “I know you don’t understand, hell, _I_ don’t understand it, but she needs him just as much as he needs her.”

“You don’t know that,” she spat, her accent getting thicker in her anger and, yes, fear. “You don’t know my daughter.”

“On the contrary, Grand Duchess, I believe I know your daughter very well.”

“How could you possibly? You didn’t carry her into this world, you didn’t watch her grow up, and you haven’t tried to protect her with everything in you.”

“No,” Stinger shook his head and looked down. “No, I haven’t done any of those, especially not the last, and for that I will be forever trying to make it up to Her Majesty. But I have done all those things for my _own_ daughter, and when, in trying to save my daughter’s life, I gave up yours to Titus, I lost all. And she could have had me killed for it. Instead she gave me pardon, and further, gave me a home and her trust. I’m not about to lose that now when I know she trusts me to keep her and her loved ones safe, and that includes Caine, My Lady, because he _has_ done that last and more. And when she asks for him, I will make sure she gets him. Whether you approve or not.”

“She’s _my_ daughter!”

“I’m sorry, Grand Duchess, but she’s not _just_ yours anymore.”

She gave him a long, considering look before she asked, “So you’re loyal to my daughter above all else but your own daughter?”

Stinger paused before he gave a short nod. “As your daughter values my daughter, I would give my life for hers.”

“Good,” Aleska turned to look at the empty doorway, knowing that Caine had waited until just then to enter her daughter’s room. To her surprise, she found that she didn’t mind if Caine knew her reservations as well as Stinger’s loyalties on the matter. Perhaps it would make him think. “Good,” she repeated before turning to give Stinger a level look. “Make sure it stays that way and you and I will be in agreement. But make no mistake, I will not allow my daughter to be taken advantage of, by any of you, and by any means necessary. We are Bolotnikov, and it may not seem like a long time to beings that have survived our planet’s making, but we have lived in the shadow of royalty for thousands of years. We are not as meek as our history would make us seem.”

Stinger’s mouth quirked up at one end. “No, I got that message when Her Majesty threatened to have me castrated with a rusty spoon.”

Aleska’s face smoothed into a faint smile. “She gets that from me.”

“I have no doubt, Grand Duchess.”

With a last look toward her daughter’s room, Aleska retired to her own to let her exhaustion finally take her.

* * *

Jupiter thought about what she was doing and all she still needed to get done, wondering if any of it was actually under her control. From the other room, she heard her mother say something angrily. It made her want to help and want to disappear at the same time. Before she could psych herself out, she toed out of her trainers and laid down on the bed, giving a heartfelt groan as her body was cradled on a feather-down cloud.

A throat cleared.

Jupiter flushed at the amused look on Caine’s face.

“Should I come back later?”

She turned and buried her face in the pillows. After a moment, the bed dipped under his weight and she turned toward him, lifting her face enough to ask, “How did it go?”

Caine shrugged. “As well as can be expected when handing an overeager splice to the Aegis rather than jettisoning them into space.”

“I-” Jupiter blinked. “People do that?”

“Entitled do, Your Majesty, and have done to me.”

His tone was soft but she could hear the anger under it, and she had a sinking feeling. “You don’t see Entitled as people, do you?” The instant the question was out of her mouth she wanted to take it back.

“On the contrary, Majesty, I think it’s Entitled that don’t view splices as people. But,” Caine stared at her for a bit before his face softened. “I’ve met one recently that is rapidly changing my mind.”

“Oh?” Reassured, Jupiter leaned back, scooting to the side and making room for him on the bed. “Good, because I’m something they’ve never seen before, either.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.”

Caine reflected on the conversation he’d just had with Stinger and Host, on the worlds that Jupiter would be expected to move through now that she was one of the Primes of the Abrasax family; one apparently starting a whole new line here on Earth. She would need help and that meant fitting in among her fellow Entitled, meeting their expectations and conforming to their rules. Rules that didn’t allow for a relationship between royalty and splice.

Despite her promises, Caine wondered how long it would be before he was being hidden. Before he would be pushed to the side and back, kept from the public eye. Even her own mother disapproved of him, and she’d only just met him.

He didn’t begrudge her the action should it happen, only mourned the coming loss because he knew it was inevitable.

But all that fell away when Jupiter smiled at him and made a place for him at her side. It all faded as a surge of arousal and need swept through him. So demanding, and so intense was the need that it had him automatically stopping in order to still the response. Never had anyone made him this damn hungry. So hungry that he wanted nothing more than to throw her to her knees and mount her like the animal that resided within him.

When her smile wavered, he slowly stalked toward her across the bed, head lowered, his eyes going over her slender body, her small breasts pressing against the soft cotton of her blouse. A button had come undone, displaying a small bit of cleavage. She was still decently dressed, but that tiny glimpse made his mouth water.

He knelt on the mattress by her hip, rising up and bracing himself over her, his wings arched up and out to balance him. His hand lifting to smooth a stray strand of silken hair from her cheek. Her whispered sigh was almost a moan, her lips parting as though for a kiss.

She needed sleep, he told himself. She didn’t need to be molested by him in her bed. Too many choices had already been taken from her, he didn’t want to add to the list.

“Caine,” she whispered, a smile tilting her soft lips. “What are you waiting for? An engraved invitation?”

“Of course,” he swallowed the growl building in his throat. “Every time I touch you it feels like I’m taking something precious. To do so without your consent would damage me in ways I don’t think you’ll understand, especially not after that speech you just gave to Stinger.”

Her eyes dilated as she reached up to touch his face. Cool, silken fingertips brushed over his cheek before they touched his lips. They traced the curves, her cheeks flushing with need, the scent of her arousal wrapping around him until he wanted to drown in it. Drown in her. He opened his lips, drawing one of the slender tips into his mouth, caressing it with his tongue as he wanted to caress another part of her body. His hand settled on her rib cage, just under the curve of her breast, plumping it up as a spark of surprise lit her eyes.

“If I ever get inside you,” he told her harshly as her finger slid from his mouth. “I’ll never last long enough.”

“How long is long enough?” she asked, her voice gone breathy.

“Two seconds. Maybe.”

Jupiter sputtered a laugh and stared at him with glazed eyes. She was panting now, her breasts rising and falling with every breath. He looked down, unable to stop himself, and made a sound halfway between a whine and a groan. His lips lowered, but rather than moving to her lips, he allowed his own to whisper over the soft curve of her breasts revealed by the slipped button.

Her breath caught. He could smell the wet heat of her building and he wanted to taste it. Wanted to bury his tongue so deep between her thighs that he would always be a part of her.

“Caine,” her sigh was thick with pleasure as his thumb reached up to rasp over her hard little nipple.

Time seemed to stand still.

Her scent was warm and sweet, her taste was hot and hungry; she smelled like no Entitled he’d ever scented before, tasted like no Entitled should and still be allowed to run free. He threw his thigh over hers, straddling her hips and better bracing himself on his knees so that none of his considerable weight rested on her. His position over her prevented her from being able to wrap her legs around him and he could feel her arching against him in frustration.

When he raised his mouth a fraction of an inch – to ask permission, to move, _something_ – she whispered, “We can’t.”

Caine froze, his muscles locking down against the coming pain. “I understand, Your Majesty,” he gritted out, readying himself to move off, move _away-_

“No,” Jupiter huffed, grasping onto shoulders as he started to pull away. “It’s not that I don’t want to. _I want to_ , believe me.”

And he did want to believe her. But he pulled back, despite her clawing hands, to see her pupils blown and passion painted on her cheeks and lips. It was enough to make him believe that yes, she did want him. So he stayed, frozen above her, the confusion clear on his face.

“It’s just, the thought of-of… _Jesus_.” Her flush deepened into embarrassment before she licked her lips and spat, “My mother.”

His brows snapped down. “What?”

“My mother is in the next room. Literally on the other side of the door.”

“So?”

“So,” she repeated with a small smirk. “I’m not having sex with my mother that close. I require at least three doors, two rooms, probably a whole floor, and absolutely no chance of _parentis coitus interruptus_.”

Caine groaned, closing his eyes and dropping his forehead against her chest as if in acute pain. His wings drooped over either side of the bed, as if he no longer had the strength to hold them up.

She laughed at his response and slid both hands over his sensitive ears and into his short hair in order to pull his head up into a kiss.

“We can do other things,” she whispered against his lips and was rewarded when his breathing hitched and he licked his lips.

“Majesty…” he growled, more plea than protestation.

She pulled him down and kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. That was a lot, I know. But I needed to get through most of it and quickly. Still with me?
> 
> Translations:  
> Spasibo - Thank you  
> Spasibo za spaseniye moyey docheri - Thank you for saving my daughter  
> Pozhaluysta - You're welcome


	9. Event Horizon: Part III

Caine surged into the kiss, his tongue plunging in and out of her mouth, mimicking a much more sexual act as his hands moved over her sides and down to her hips and thighs. His knee deftly parted hers, and he shifted, making room for himself and settling his hips in the cradle of her thighs while he stroked up her side, cupping the swollen mound of her breast.

She jerked at the sensation and closed her eyes in delight as his rough palm scraped over her nipple. She couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want to breathe. Her hands gripped his shoulders as small mewling sounds of hunger rose in her chest.

Suddenly, the double layer of cotton and lace was too much for both of them. He straightened up, pushing his knees under him and dragging her down against him until her legs were draped over his open thighs. With her arms above her head, her eyes languid and her hair spread over the coverlet, she was like a sensuous buffet. He opened the rest of the buttons on her shirt and pulled it off, then deftly undid her bra and tossed it to the ground beside her shirt.

He lifted a hand, as if to touch, but paused and glanced up for her permission. Even here he wouldn’t take from her. Everything had to be what she wanted.

There was a long moment as they looked into each other’s eyes. Her with trust and him with absolute faith. There was power there, fear, too. And it was as heady and fleeting as all such moments are. Jupiter gave a small nod, and Caine exhaled, a long sighing sound; then it was as if they both held their breath as his hand shaped itself over her breast, learning her size and softness, the texture of her skin.

Her breath was coming fast and shallow as he looked his fill of her. Her breasts weren’t big, but they were a delightful handful, firm and upright. Her nipples were small and pinkish-brown, velvety soft and delicate compared to the rough fingertip he used to lightly circle one, making the aureole pucker even more tightly. He watched as pleasure caused gooseflesh to ripple over her arms and shoulders, felt it in the way she clenched her thighs, saw it in the delicate color that spread down from her cheeks to her arched throat and chest until her skin was glowing rosy and bright with a light sheen of perspiration.

Caine bent, planting one hand on the cushion beside her ribcage for balance and tucked the other arm beneath her until his palm rested between her shoulder blades. Then he lifted her, arching her up as he bent his head to her breasts. He was gentle, totally without haste. He nuzzled his face against the underside of her breasts, kissing the curves, licking gently at her nipples until they were reddened and so tight they couldn’t possibly get any tighter. He waited until she was writhing in his arms and moaning his name, her heart thundering against his face before he finally began sucking her with slow, firm pressure.

Fingers speared through his hair, clutching him close to her. Caine happily settled in until his own pulse was racing so fast he was dizzy. He knew she was practically helpless, ready to do virtually anything he wanted. When he stopped, it was by his own willpower, not hers. And he was shaking with the knowledge, his body trembling against her as though chilled though he felt hot enough that his skin might melt off. He sat upright, pulling her with him and pressing his forehead against hers, his eyes squeezed shut and his hands roughly stroking her hips, her bare back, anything within reach to anchor himself in the present.

“You’re trying to kill me,” he accused in a strained tone. “I’ll make the effort worth it, though.”

“How?” she asked, watching in fascination as the muscles of his back and shoulders rippled when he bent to retrieve her shirt and bra, his wings automatically spreading and bending back to counter-balance his movements.

“I’ll bring you to the edge, over and over again, with lips and tongue and fingers and cock. And I won’t let you come until you beg me for it.”

Jupiter licked her lips, ignoring the way he held out her bra and shirt as if expecting them to reassert themselves over her body through sheer willpower. “I thought you were holding out for two seconds.”

Caine snickered. “That’s just the first time. The second time we’re going to set the sheets on fire.” He watched her eyes widen and her pupils dilate before he realized that it would behoove him to get her off his lap. His erection was a constant throb and talking about sex wasn’t helping any. Despite claims to the contrary, Caine’s control was limited, and having her like this was stretching it to the breaking point and nothing save the presence of their clothing and her ‘no’ spared her his rutting her into the mattress like an animal. He carefully stilled the trembling of his hands, eyes shut to regain his equilibrium and steady his thoughts. What mattered was Jupiter, who was running her fingers through his hair, dragging her nails along his scalp in a shameless bid to catch his attention.

Stinger would devise a way to inflict great bodily harm if Jupiter came to trouble while supposedly in Caine’s care. Even if that harm came from him. Maybe _especially_ if that harm came from him, intentionally or not.

Using that thought as a shield, he could focus on obeying her _words_ and not her body at the moment, disregarding the way she moved against him, the cool sensation of fingers in his hair, warm breath feathered across his face, eyes bright and close and so impossibly _deep_ -

He cleared his throat. “I should get up.”

“That close, huh?” She gave him a look. “Want me to move?”

“If you have to move at all, do it slowly.”

She laughed, as he had intended. Caine carefully deposited her on the mattress beside him and tried not to stare as Jupiter pulled her shirt on and started buttoning it, disregarding her bra entirely. He winced and awkwardly shifted, trying to get comfortable without making his discomfort obvious.

“Tell me about where you were raised.”

“What?” Caine blinked, admittedly having trouble following her change of subject.

“Where you were born? Or hatched? What you did as a child. Tell me about it.”

“Why?”

“To get your mind off… you know.” She indicated the ‘you know’ in question. “You’ve talked about the Legion some. But you weren’t just popped out full grown, were you?”

“Ah, no,” Caine sat back on the corner of the bed, mantling his wings as he thought about his answer. He watched her remove her socks and check the dresser for a change of clothes before moving into the walk-thru closet to change. “We were born in something like an artificial womb, called weaves. There were twelve of us in my litter.”

She tipped sideways out of the closet to blink at him. “Twelve.”

He shrugged, deliberately misunderstanding her. “It was a small litter to start with. Most range between eighteen and twenty-six.”

“Ooooo-kay,” she disappeared back into the closet. “Please continue.”

“There were three litters of lycantants born that season. The other two litters were almost double that of my litter. Fifty-seven total, and I was the only one born Isabelline.”

She stepped out of the closet dressed in a baggy pair of shorts and a loose tee that fell over one shoulder, revealing creamy skin and a lack of any kind of bra. “What’s that?”

Caine had to pull his thoughts forcefully away from tasting that skin before he could remember that she’d asked him something. “What?”

Jupiter smirked before coming around the bed and gesturing to his boots. He automatically began the process of removing them while she asked, “What’s Isabelline? I thought Stinger called you half-albino?”

“It’s…” he tilted his head before giving it a shake. “Complicated. It has to do with a reversion mutation in the alleles for ur-melanin that cause a broad scale dilution and result in blond or pinkish coloring.” Her diversion was working. As his mind moved off his libido and onto his troubled youth, he could feel the tension draining though his gaze had a tendency to settle on her braless breasts. From her crooked smile, she knew it, too. “If two copies are paired, you get a full genetic dilution and the result is cream or white, with blue or violet eyes, usually born the runt with a need for melanin supplements in order to reach adulthood.”

“Yeah,” Jupiter shrugged unselfconsciously. “I didn’t get any of that.”

“It’s not true albinism; those don’t actually survive to birth. And those who don’t bother learning genetics call Isabellines half-albino.”

Jupiter touched his cheek, lifting his gaze from however far away it had drifted as he remembered hard-taught lessons from his childhood. She smiled when he blinked her back into focus. “I’ll be sure to tell Stinger that you basically called him an ignorant hick.”

Caine gaped at her for a moment before surging up to catch her in his arms. She squealed as he spun and planted her on the mattress beneath him, lifting up just far enough so that his clever fingers found all the points of tenderness on her body and had her sputtering in laughter and begging to be released. Careful never to use his greater strength to hurt, he nonetheless had her whimpering before he stopped, carefully curving his hands under her shoulders and covering her body protectively with his while she calmed. He nuzzled the soft skin behind her ear while she gasped against his cheek.

Finally, he felt her hands creep around his shoulders, pulling him fully against her. He settled with a sigh, tucking his face into the curve of her throat while she stroked one hand up into his scalp, the other ran over the muscles of his shoulders, pushing the tension from them with each sweep.

“Stinger said you had no pack,” Jupiter whispered against his temple. “Did you lose them?”

“Stinger talks too much,” Caine grumbled, pushing his face harder into her shoulder and throat in a futile effort to hide. After a moment, he lifted up and over, shifting his weight from his knees and elbows onto his side. He raised onto one elbow so that he could see her face as he revealed his shame. And for her, only her, would he do so just because she’d asked. “Pack is… about strength. Strength of bond, strength of individual, strength of skill. For a member of an already small pack to be deficient in some way was… unforgivable. It didn’t happen right away. I was put in an incubator as an infant until I could breathe on my own, and then put on supplements until puberty. It was about the time the packs starting testing each other that they found me lacking. I wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t as fast. I couldn’t keep up with my siblings, not in the crèche.”

“Crèche?”

“Almost all splices are created on the moon orbiting the Splicing Guild’s homeworld in the Caliper system. The moon is called the Crèche, the safe place. The Matri’s don’t allow violence in the crèche. So at the first sign of competition, the splices are sent to the planet below for training.”

“When was your pack sent?”

“When they had six cycles.”

“Cycles?”

“About four hundred of your solar days.”

Her surprise was evident. “So young?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “It was the average time, five or six cycles, when a foundling began their training.”

Something in the way he said it made her reach out to him. With a sigh, Cain sank into her arms. “How old were you?” she whispered.

His breath caught for a moment before he let it go, and with it, the rest of his tension. She wouldn’t judge him for his body’s failure. “I didn’t join them until I had thirteen cycles, and by then, I was not wanted. I was alone.”

Jupiter tightened her arms around him and pressed her lips to the tip of his ear. “Not anymore,” she declared then hesitated. “Do you think I can do this?”

He tightened his arms in response until they lay plastered together from shoulder to knee. Their beginning had been anything but auspicious. But despite his original intentions, and the treachery that constantly surrounded her, Jupiter remained kind. “I think, if anyone else proposed to do what you plan, I would suspect their genome to be defective.”

“Gee, thanks,” she muttered, yawning, then said, “I have no idea what I’m getting myself in for, but I do know that the way you and Stinger have been treated, what you take as _normal_ , is wrong.”

He paused, reared back and gave her a startled look. “You’re doing this for me?”

She nodded tentatively, blinking heavily and obviously fighting sleep. “Did I not make that clear?”

His gaze went back to her breasts. “Well, I _have_ been a little distracted, Your Majesty.”

“That’s because you’re a mutant,” She shrugged at his wry look. “I told you I had a habit of being interested in guys who weren’t interested in me.”

Caine snorted. “They were probably scared.”

“Scared!” Jupiter pouted dramatically. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

“Worse,” he said cheerfully. “You’re _kind_. Even without the Entitlement, you have a mind of your own, and you’re beautiful. Most would find that intimidating on any planet.”

“Most, huh?”

“You’re lucky I like a challenge,” he rumbled.

She laughed before finally settling against him and allowing sleep to take her. He carefully arranged them so that she was curled in his embrace, protected and safe before allowing his own eyes to close.

He’d lied; he didn’t like challenges, he _loved_ them. _Thrived_ on them. He would always fight hardest for something he was told he could never have. Jupiter, as a royal, was something he was _forbidden_. The problem wouldn’t be in catching her; Caine knew he could find her anywhere in the gyre given enough time. The problem would be in keeping her; convincing her that _he_ was worth the trouble, scorn and derision she would receive in being with a splice.

* * *

That evening, after a much calmer dinner which included only Jupiter’s mother, aunt, Stinger, Kiza, Caine, herself and Host, Jupiter sat down with the medic to learn all about com-links.

It was a simple device implanted behind the ear. Within an hours’ time, the electro-neural pathways would grow to include the ear channel, the occipital lobe, and the visual cortex. This would allow the user to see, hear and _think_ commands and communicate through the device which was powered via kinetic heat, or her own body. The chip within stored over 16 geopbytes and worked a quantum-core nano-processor. Something she was told was very high end. So long as she lived, her device would be active and entirely under her command – there were rumors of people being hijacked, but the device had been field-tested by the Legion and the Aegis so often that they were dismissed as that, just rumors. There had never been an actual case of someone’s com-link being ‘hacked,’ as Jupiter asked, a person could feel when someone was accessing the com-link, all a person had to do was think ‘ _no_ ’ and the link was deactivated.

With the com-link, communication between people could be as impersonal as a conversation on the phone, or as private as taking a walk on a remote planet. She would be able to see and hear as if she was standing next to the person she was having the link with. For Stinger’s purposes, he would be able to contact her and track her anywhere in the galaxy.

After the explanation and a brief show-n-tell, Jupiter sat back and listened to her mother and aunt grill CMO Host about everything she knew about recoding. It wasn’t much. Beyond the basic principles, and an exacting knowledge of how to administer light doses to heal wounds, what was required was a Splicer with an adept knowledge of how to code the desired genome into the recode device. In a pinch, Host could activate the device, but she had little to no understanding of how it worked beyond a basic understanding of human genes and the heavy requirements of cell regeneration.

The pool itself wasn’t water like Jupiter first thought. It was a heavy mixture of ‘people-juice,’ oxygen-rich saline, analgesics, antibiotics, vitamins and minerals. Fuel through osmosis for the body’s recode.

Jupiter wasn’t sure what to think about any of it. The com-link, the recoding. What she did know was that if she wanted to keep Earth off the harvesting list, she would have to think long-term. And that meant change. True change was effected from the inside, and in order to be inside, she would first have to conform.

“Okay,” she stated into a lull in the conversation, instantly garnering Host’s attention. “Give me the com-link.”

After that, things went very quickly. Host put a daub of clear gel on Jupiter’s finger and told her to rub a small area behind one ear. The gel quickly numbed her fingertip, so she spread it behind her left ear and waited. A strange looking gun, a bit of pressure, and she was the proud new owner of one of the Imperial’s finest com-links.

Right away, she began seeing a scrolling list of directions and personal preferences. She could look at the one she wanted and _think_ ‘yes’ and that choice would be selected. She quickly oriented things to appear at her periphery unless she looked at it directly, bringing it into focus. Those within her sphere were already downloaded as contacts; Cain, Stinger, Kiza, Host. Her com-link was the type that automatically downloaded information along with full profiles, and her access was such that she could see them in their entirety. She was tempted to open Cain’s and read, but decided against it. For now, anyway.

Suddenly, her mother’s contact information popped up, and Jupiter turned to see that not only had Aleska gotten a com-link, but that her aunt Nino was in the process of having one implanted as well. And she was overwhelmed. This single, simple act, more than anything her mother had said or done until now, proved how far she was willing to go to support her daughter. It was a better gift than Jupiter deserved.

Without a word, Jupiter walked into her mother’s arms, ducking her head and wrapping her arms around her mother’s waist like she did as a child.

Aleska didn’t hesitate, just wrapped both arms around Jupiter’s shoulders and whispered, “ _Akh.moy dorogoy, Ya zdes’_.”

“I wanna go home,” Jupiter whispered.

It didn’t take long after that for them to finish up. Stinger would drop Host back on the Aegis ship before taking himself and Kiza home. They had a few things to do on the farm before coming back in a day or two unless Jupiter needed them sooner. Caine would remain in the apartment. Jupiter gave him a task; find out what she needed in order to take control of the planet Kalique had so generously given her. Jupiter grabbed a few sheaves to read, and then with a hug to all and a kiss to Caine, departed for her family’s home with her mother and aunt in their station wagon.

The sheaf from Tweak constantly updated, and Jupiter happily informed Nino and Aleska that the Keepers had done their job of cleaning the three houses with little incident.

“Little doesn’t mean none,” Nino turned in her seat to lift a brow at Jupiter. “What did they do?”

Jupiter shrugged, “Apparently the Devon’s came home a little early.”

Aleska snorted. “That woman, I swear. She lives to torture her husband.”

Nino and Jupiter both snickered as Aleska pulled up in front of Vassily’s house. There was a moment, when reality came crashing down upon them, like this afternoon had been a dream. Jupiter glanced back and forth between the two women who had raised her, knowing exactly how they both felt. She leaned forward, crossing her arms on top of the bench seat.

“It was real. You never have to go back to cleaning houses if you don’t want to. I know the paperwork arrived today, I have Tweak’s report of Irena receiving it.”

Aleska reached back with one hand and patted Jupiter’s cheek. “You’re a good girl, my Jupiter.”

With that, they got out of the car and headed into the familiar chaos of the house. The big news of the evening, of course, was Jupiter’s packet and the inheritance granted to her from her father’s family. If Jupiter was surprised by how quickly it degenerated into an argument between her mother and aunt Irena about money, she didn’t show it. This was what her mother had meant when she said that she would handle her family and _make sure_ Jupiter got to do with the money what she wanted. Nino helped by taking Jupiter downstairs and distracting her with ideas and plans for changing the economy.

The next several days involved Jupiter dodging her aunt Irena and cousin Vladie as they tried to guilt her into giving them money in the morning, going through sheaves of paperwork in the afternoon with Stinger and Caine, while her mother, aunt and Kiza shopped to their hearts’ content, and then having dinner with her mother, aunt Nino, Stinger, Kiza, Caine and whoever else from the Aegis wanted to visit. And the visits were frequent; now that she’d moved into the public sphere, she was a creature of curiosity, a novelty to the _ton_ – the entitled people that filled the noble houses of the Imperium. Captain Tsing did her best to block most of the enquiries, not to mention the _actual_ gawkers that came to the planet (most of those were forcefully escorted from the system by the Aegis, Earth was still a protected planet after all), but a few did get through, which then had to deal with Caine and his particularly vicious brand of Entitled control. Most left with a new appreciation for the Tersie Queen’s security.

Jupiter approved.

Captain Tsing approved as well, but publicly shook her head and dealt with the injuries quietly, all the while admonishing whoever had gotten through her net.

Within a week, the people attempting to actually see Jupiter diminished to a very small sect of people that Captain Tsing considered mentally unbalanced.

“Why?” Jupiter asked, when the information was given to her.

“They worshipped Lady Seraphi,” Tsing explained. “When they heard of her recurrence…” the Captain shrugged.

“But she died over a thousand years ago,” Jupiter argued.

“Which doesn’t mean much to people capable of living twice that or longer on a single recode, Majesty.” Stinger interjected casually, going over a few sheaves that concerned her safety, and the safety of her newfound holdings.

“Right,” Jupiter blinked. “What’s next on the agenda?”

Kiza slipped forward, laying a sheaf with several profiles on it. “You need help, Majesty.”

Jupiter sighted. “I told you-”

“I know what you said, Majesty,” Kiza interrupted. “But Caine, dad and I are Legion-trained. We can fill in, sure, for a while. But you need someone trained to help you navigate this universe. You need a Majordomo for your household; a Steward for your public affairs; a legal advocate for both your public and private holdings; and that’s just the beginning. Your mother and aunt are willing to learn, but they don’t know anything yet. Captain Tsing can put you in touch with the right people; an advocate and a splicer for-”

“No,” Jupiter said it quietly, but with the kind of tone that cut through anything else. Both Caine and Stinger flinched at the tone, their instincts already warning them against contradicting her. Kiza had no such instincts- or she was ignoring them.

“Majesty, some splices designed-”

“I said _no_.” Jupiter stood, slamming down the sheaf she’d been reading. “Here, on Earth, my home, slavery is wrong, illegal even. I was raised in near poverty and from the time I could manage a bucket, I’ve been working for my family in slave-like conditions. The idea that one person could _own_ another sickens me. That the economy of this entire universe is based upon the _consumption_ of _human beings-_ ” Jupiter stopped and had to gather a breath before she continued in a slightly less hysterical tone. “I hold your contracts, yes. But I stipulated that those contracts must be given willingly for _a reason_. I won’t- I _can’t_ think of you as my property. Don’t ask that of me. At most, I can look at this as me being your boss, your employer, your queen with an overinflated sense of _noblesse oblige_ but I do not _own_ you. Do you understand?”

Caine ducked his head while Stinger nodded, his eyes averted. Kiza, finally heeding those instincts buried under her own experience of living on Earth, nodded, understanding at least a little about where her new queen was coming from.

“Okay,” Kiza, far from being cowed, hummed. “Okay.” She shifted, grabbing another sheaf, this one connected to the nets that Caine had been perusing. She ignored his startled “ _Hey!_ ” and pulled the sheaf from his hands. “What about orphaned contracts?”

“What?”

Kiza was practically bouncing in place. “People; splices, humans, androids, synthetics – whose contracts are up for auction? Willing contractors. Offer them the same deal; it’s unusual, but not unheard of.”

“They’re not required to work?” Jupiter tipped her head to the side, a skeptical look on her face.

Kiza grimaced. “Yes and no,” she flipped her hand back and forth. “Most are just looking to become citizens. Some are paying off debts of one kind or another. A few are being sold by their original owners for one reason or another, usually because of some kind of defect.”

Jupiter saw the slight flinch Caine gave at the offhand comment, but didn’t think anyone else had noticed. It made something in her harden. “Show me the list, I’ll go through it tonight.”

Kida blinked. “The whole list? There are thousands of contracts up for sale-”

“I’m sure there are ways of narrowing down what I’m looking for, right?” At Kiza’s nod, Jupiter continued. “I’m looking for someone to handle my personal affairs, someone to handle my public affairs, and someone or ones to handle my legal affairs. Correct? After narrowing it down to those, have Stinger comb through them, eliminating any security risks and then give me a list of those remaining with their profiles and I’ll go through it tonight. Tomorrow I’ll hand you four or five applicants for each position and we’ll do interviews. Can we do interviews?”

Stinger nodded. “I’ll retrieve them myself, Majesty.”

“Good. Okay?”

Kiza dropped into a chair with a heartfelt sigh. “Okay.”

Jupiter nodded and walked down the hall to her room. “Caine?”

“Majesty?” he asked, once he followed her into the room.

She closed the door behind him and burrowed herself in his arms. “I need cuddle time.”

Caine closed his arms around her, relaxing into her scent. “I can do that.”

By the end of the week, Aleska had settled her differences with Irena, and informed Vassily that neither she, Nino nor Jupiter would be working for their cleaning business any longer. Zeno was thrilled, his merry crew would be cleaning the houses and making the money for Vassily from now on. Jupiter paid back her debt to her uncle, so he was pleased. She took her younger cousins shopping, getting young Moltka the games and toys he wanted, and Mikka the clothes and accessories she’d been coveting for school. For her cousin Valdie, she bought the television and the cleaning robot, and paid off his credit card debt after watching him cut up the cards. When he tried to get her to invest in another scheme, she shook her head and just walked away. Lyudmila was happy with new knitting needles and a thousand dollar gift card to the local fabric shop so that she could buy as much yarn as she wanted. Irena was given a grocery card connected to Jupiter’s accounts that automatically refilled the five hundred dollar limit every month and a couple of cook books. She wasn’t happy, especially when she noticed Nino and Aleska’s new wardrobe and jewelry, but she was no longer upset that Jupiter wasn’t grateful to her family for all they had done for her and her mother and aunt.

Nino had moved into the apartment by the end of the week, and already there was a small forest of herbs growing on the balcony. The pantry was fully stocked and they were eating homemade more than takeout. Jupiter couldn’t ask for more.

Her mother, though, was patient, and took her time moving into the back bedroom. The few things she’d brought from Russia were moved one by one with utmost care. The mementos she’d gathered in the years Jupiter grew up, the pictures, the small keepsakes. Everything found a place in the apartment, some out into the open when Jupiter could have been perfectly happy if they never saw the light of day. Baby pictures, for one. There weren’t many, but those that survived were mostly of her naked butt, and she turned red as a tomato and then retreated to the library when Aleska started showing them to Stinger and Caine.

By the weekend, Jupiter had the list of applicants down to just six, each one capable of filling the position of Majordomo or Steward. She asked Stinger to retrieve them for an interview, as well as pick up a Jake Static from Ores for a brief meeting, as he was taking the position of legal councilor. When she told Kiza that, the younger woman fainted dramatically across her father’s lap.

“Oh, thank you, Majesty!”

Jupiter laughed. “Don’t think you’re off free. Your father said you needed a job.”

Kiza perked up. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Jupiter nodded. “With your dad acting as my Head of Security, you are now officially my bee-keeper.”

“That’s a thing?” Kiza turned to look at her dad, who shrugged with a smirk. “Really?”

“Honey is, apparently, a rare commodity in the universe,” Jupiter went on. “I’ll need you to start harvesting and maybe even create a brand for me.”

Kiza jumped up, laughing and grabbing anyone in her vicinity and pulling them with her.

That night, Stinger was off to retrieve some personnel while Kiza returned home. Dinner was just her aunt, mother and Caine. It was quiet. Something Jupiter was afraid she wouldn’t have very much of in the future. As they began cleaning up dinner, Nino and Aleska waved off Caine’s attempts to help. With a shrug and a guileless smile, he went into the guest bathroom and started the shower. Jupiter sighed, scraped the last of the leftovers into Tupperware, stowed it in the fridge and turned to her mother and aunt.

“Yes?”

She saw Nino smirk while elbow-deep in soap suds.

“I just want to know that you’re being safe,” Aleska sighed, drying her hands on a towel.

“Agh, Mama!” Jupiter tilted her head back, letting it bang into the refrigerator door.

“It’s a legitimate concern,” Aleska huffed, tossing the towel onto the drying rack. “You spend all your free time with him; when you’re not hiding in your rooms you’re out in the air with those boots!”

And hadn’t _that_ been an ear-screeching conversation. “You’re _not_ lecturing me on the boots again! I told you, they’re perfectly safe. And with Caine’s wings-”

Aleska lifted both hands. “I’m not fighting over the boots.”

“But you admit this is a fight?”

“Jupiter,” Aleska scolded. “A mother has a right to worry about her daughter.”

Jupiter stared for a minute before shaking her head. “You want to worry? Fine. Worry about the people Stinger is bringing to me to interview for positions in my new household. Worry about the fact that the Shadows have fought off three – _three_ – attempts to sneak on-planet just today. Worry about the new troops I’ll be receiving at the end of the week. Worry about the fact that I’ll be inspecting my holdings through the end of the month. Worry about the planet that I’m required to live on for a few weeks out of the year because my pre-incarnation deemed it a sanctuary and my genetic daughter, who is _fourteen thousand years old_ decided to give it to me. Worry about _why_ she decided to give it to me. Worry about how the Imperium is going to accept me, the genetic recurrence of a former leading House Prime, who has the knowledge and manners of a country hick in comparison. But for all that honey tastes good” –and, _god_ , she was taking on Stinger’s invectives now– “don’t worry about the man who loves me enough to throw himself bodily into a hurricane three times the size of _our_ _planet_ to save my life. Caine is the one thing I _don’t_ worry about. Ever. Okay?”

Both Nino and Aleska were looking at her wide-eyed, and Jupiter realized that she’d just laid quite a bit on them. Maybe more than she should have. But before she could even try to brush it all off, her mother stepped forward and laid both hands on her shoulders.

“The boy means that much to you?”

Jupiter nodded.

“Why? And don’t just tell me because he’s willing to walk through fire for you,” Aleska interjected when Jupiter opened her mouth to say just that. “Anyone can see he’s devoted to you. I want to know why _you’re_ devoted to _him_.”

It was a valid question. One she didn’t have a ready answer to. But Jupiter tried to answer anyway. “He feels right, he’s… I don’t know, he’s family. He’s pack.”

Aleska raised a brow. “Pack?”

Jupiter shrugged. “Mine.”

Over her mother’s shoulder, Jupiter saw Nino give a sharp nod but it wasn’t until Aleska gave a similar nod that she felt the wash of their approval.

Later the night, as she curled into Caine’s arms and tried to find sleep, she found that though their approval made her feel better, it didn’t lighten her load of worries any.

* * *

Jupiter woke to a light _beep_ that was becoming familiar.

< _Incoming message. Read?_ >

She yawned and rolled away from her warm place in the sheets before selecting _yes_.

< _Coded request sent through secured Abrasax network: Kalique Abrasax requests a private connection. Please respond._ >

Jupiter stopped mid-reach for her toothbrush. “Holy shit.”

“Majesty?”

Caine’s voice pulled her from her surprise, her attention shifting from the hanging message and letting it stay in her periphery as she took in Caine. He was perched on the balcony rail outside her bathroom window, a cup of gently steaming coffee in one hand, his wings slightly spread to catch the morning breeze as he preened with the other. He wore dark jeans that hung low on his hips and clung to his butt and thighs. She and Kiza had both sighed in appreciation when he came out of the dressing room wearing them for the first time. She’d promptly bought him three more pairs. And though he couldn’t wear any of the shirts she’d wanted to buy him because of his wings, he could wear the stretchy tank tops that showed off his wide shoulders and fit between his wings.

It’s what he was wearing now and the view distracted her from her message more fully than anything else could have.

“Hmm?” Jupiter hummed and stepped into the empty Jacuzzi tub so that she could lean out the open window of her bathroom in an effort to see him better.

He looked up from preening his wings to see her admiring glance and smiled, pleased that she was pleased with him. Jupiter couldn’t help a look like that, and nearly fell out the window reaching for him. Caine, gracefully stepped off the ledge, put his coffee down on the low table by the wall and caught her before she face-planted, letting her hands find his shoulders and pull him down to meet her lips.

It was a sweet kiss, full of longing and want and was just edging into more when Jupiter pulled back. “Morning.”

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” Caine smiled and shifted back a step. “Why did you curse?”

“Huh? Oh,” Jupiter sucked in a breath before bringing the message back into focus. “Kalique wants to speak with me. Privately.”

“Right now?”

She shrugged. “I’m assuming so. Why?”

He glanced down her body, a brow lifted and his mouth quirked. She followed his gaze, taking in her bare legs and the loose cotton shirt slipping off one shoulder and barely covering her panties.

She shrugged again. “So I’ll get dressed first.”

“Don’t do so on my account, Majesty,” he murmured, and then proceeded to lift her out through the window to perch on the ledge. Jupiter laughed as he lifted, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and making room for him between her thighs when he stepped close. He felt the sudden hitch in her breathing as he carefully brushed his whiskers against her sensitive skin while sipping kisses along her jaw.

“Majesty?”

She jerked at the voice coming from her bedroom door. She had to clear her throat, twice, before answering. “Yes?”

Caine smiled into her hair and continued distracting her.

Stinger’s voice got stronger as he entered her room but stayed just out of sight in deference to her delicate sensibilities. He'd walked in on her while she was in a bath _once_ and never again. “I’ve returned with your choices. They’re waiting for you in the dining room. Tsing sent a transport to take back those who don’t meet with your approval.”

“Oh, good,” She sucked in a breath when teeth found the lobe of her ear. “Kalique sent a message. I’ll have to speak with her first then I’ll meet the others in the library.”

Her moan was thankfully lost in the sound of Stinger chuckling at that new development and Caine took the opportunity her arched neck brought to kiss down the line of her carotid.

“I’ll let them know they might be in for a wait,” Stinger went on as though nothing had changed. “I’ve got a surprise for you, as well, Majesty. Your cruiser is here, in orbit above the planet.”

Jupiter gasped as his kisses turned into light scrapes.

“What did you say, Majesty?”

Caine raked his teeth lightly along her collarbone while she tried to gather her thoughts.

“Uh- I, I said that’s great. Now we don’t have to bother Tsing if I need to go anywhere.”

Caine immediately soothed the scratches by licking over them, dragging his tongue over the trail he had just blazed on her flesh. Jupiter’s fingers combed through his short hair as her shallow breaths drew quicker. She moaned, a bit more loudly as his hands swept up her ribcage, lifting her shirt out of the way and interrupting whatever it was Stinger was saying about the new cruiser and its accompanying fleet of smaller transports.

“Oh honey in a pot!” The Skyjacker’s voice cracked. “Caine? Caine!”

His fingers grazed the sides of her breasts as he lifted his head. “What, Stinger?”

“Could you please _not_ molest the poor girl while I’m trying to have a conversation with her?”

He looked down at her while his hands reversed their direction until he was cupping the backs of her thighs. Caine tilted his head and replied, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Stinger.” Then he knelt, tucking her knees under his arms and situating himself between her legs. “We’re just having breakfast.”

When he reached with one hand for his coffee and took a sip while the other hand smoothed over her thigh and hip, Jupiter burst into giggles.

“Beeswax.” They could hear the eye-roll in his tone. “I can see this becoming a problem.”

Caine smiled when Jupiter wrapped her legs around his torso, one arm behind, bracing her, while the other gripped his shoulder. “Not for me,” he muttered, then set the coffee down and did his very best to ignore his commanding officer while burying his face in the soft curves found along Jupiter’s front.

“Majesty?”

“Yes?”

“Kiza and I will ready your cruiser for your visit to Callisto tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“We’ve already stripped the interior. Do you want I should let Karl have at it, or should I await your approval?”

“Yes,” she sighed.

“Stars,” Stinger muttered. “Caine, you’re an asshole.”

Caine grinned against the bare skin of Jupiter’s belly.

“Jupiter, Majesty. I think you need to have your genome recoded.”

Jupiter moaned.

Stinger snorted. “I’m leaving now.”

Caine lifted his mouth far enough to say, “Bye, Stinger” before he dropped back down to mapping with his lips the delicate skin in the crease where hip met thigh. Neither paid any attention to the soft _click_ of the door.

It was some time later before they came up for air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translate:
> 
> Akh.moy dorogoy, ya zdes - Ah. My dear, I'm here.


	10. Event Horizon: Part IV

Nearly an hour after she first received the message, Jupiter sent a reply back to Kalique and then slid into the library, admittedly ducking through the hall so as not to have to face the people she’d brought here for an interview just quite yet. Caine, as always, was right behind her, dressed in Legion black and looking every bit her personal security. It was only a minute or two after she’d settled into her seat when a blink in the corner of her eye alerted her to another incoming message.

< _Coded message from secured Abrasax network: Kalique Abrasax. Receive?_ >

“Caine? How does this work?”

Caine tilted his head. “When you receive the connection, it will seem as if she is there, standing before you. But only you will hear what she says.”

“Will she see you?”

He nodded. “Unless you agree to connect at a neutral location.”

“But you won’t see her?”

He nodded again, his jaw clenched tight.

“Can I make it so that you do see her?”

Something in his posture relaxed, though he didn’t move. “If you bring me into the connection before her, yes.”

“Okay,” Jupiter scrolled through her visual options before settling on Caine’s profile. < _Initialize link: Caine Wise. Link?_ > she chose yes. < _Sending… Received. Link made: Caine Wise._ >

< _Can you read me?_ >

“Yes,” she said with a sigh, her nerves settling.

< _I can send to you this way without Kalique being the wiser._ >

“She won’t know?”

A corner of his mouth lifted. < _She will if you keep answering me aloud._ >

< _Sorry._ >

< _Don’t be. I’m impressed you’re doing this as easily as you are. Most tersies have a much more difficult time with higher technologies._ >

She turned and sent him a glare. < _I’m not stupid._ >

< _I never thought you were. Ready?_ >

Jupiter blinked and realized that she wasn’t nervous in the slightest. “Yes.”

“Good,” he purred. “Make the link. I’m here.”

< _Thank you._ >

< _My pleasure, Majesty._ >

Jupiter suppressed a shiver. Even in her head, his voice calling her Majesty seemed to work for her. She quickly flicked through her options until she found the message from Kalique. < _Initialize visual link: Kalique Abrasax. Sending…Received. Link made: Kalique Abrasax._ >

Before her eyes, Kalique shimmered into view much like the Keepers would. She turned, her face and body much younger than her eyes. Dressed in a slim sheath of shimmering violet that rippled around her like water, her hair back and dripping over one shoulder in lustrous curls, amethyst jewels dripping from her ears, throat and wrists, she looked every bit the queen she was meant to be.

“Jupiter,” she smiled. “I’m so pleased to see you’re doing well. I trust you got my gift?”

Jupiter stood and rounded her desk so that they were standing only a few feet apart. Dressed in jeans and a dark blouse, in flats and her hair pulled back into a simple tail, she was woefully underdressed compared to Kalique. But Caine’s presence relaxed her, made her lift her chin and give an equally bland smile.

“Kalique. I did, thank you. An entire planet?”

Kalique waved one hand. “It was another of mother’s old projects. I knew it would be in good hands with you.” She stretched out a hand, and the gilded goblet she was holding was taken by an invisible servant.

“Yes, about that.” Jupiter cleared her throat. “You sent Lady Bow here, through controlled space, to land in my _family’s home-_ ”

Kalique waved her hand again. Jupiter was beginning to recognize the gesture as one that meant she couldn’t be bothered to deal with the little things. “I had that splice punished. She was to deliver our gift with politesse; I don’t stand for failure.”

Something clenched in Jupiter’s gut. “Punished?”

“She’s being retrained, of course and then sold.”

“Give her to me,” the words were out of her mouth before she could rethink it.

Kalique turned around, her brow raised. “Whatever for?”

< _What are you doing, Majesty?_ >

She refused to turn and see the look on Caine’s face as she contemplated her next words. “Don’t waste the cost of retraining her; just give her to me.”

Both brows rose and a curious expression crossed Kalique’s face. “You wish to punish her yourself?”

Jupiter shrugged. “It’s me she disrespected.”

“You’re more bloodthirsty than I expected for someone so young.”

“I need to set an example.”

They stared at one another for a moment before a brilliant smile crossed Kalique’s face. “It’s done, then. She’s yours to set an example with. Which reminds me. My Ascendant ceremony.”

Jupiter blinked. “Congratulations?”

“Thank you,” Kalique inclined her head. “Though I can’t say I appreciate how I came to be receiving it, or how abominably my family has treated you thus far, I am grateful you came out alive and well.”

“I am sorry about what happened to Balem. I didn’t mean-”

Kalique gave a shake of her head and lifted a hand, a steely expression coming over her face. “My brother murdered my mother. It’s only justice that her Recurrence should take his life when defending her own from him.”

Jupiter frowned. “I didn’t take his life.”

“Didn’t you?”

< _Careful, Majesty._ >

Jupiter swallowed and lifted her chin. “No. He fell – we both did – when the platform exploded. The only reason I survived was because Caine was there to catch me.”

“Ah, yes. Your faithful splice,” Kalique’s gaze moved over to Caine standing behind Jupiter, her eyes narrowing when she noticed that he was watching her and not just staring off into the middle distance. “Whose actions are the reason the platform failed.”

Jupiter stepped forward, stopping any move on Caine’s part when he lifted a lip at Kalique. “Whose actions wouldn’t have been necessary had Balem not kidnapped me and my family in order to gain my abdication from Earth through coercion and force. Is this why you contacted me, Kalique?”

Kalique’s features smoothed, another smile gracing her face. But Jupiter noticed that it didn’t reach her eyes.

“My Ascendant ceremony. It’s been pointed out to me, rather sternly by the Nakshatra, that it would be a mistake, even a grave insult, if their former’s House First Prime’s Recurrence doesn’t appear to support her new House First Prime.”

Jupiter blinked. “You want me to come to your coronation? As a guest?”

“As family,” Kalique’s smile widened. “You are officially a Prime of House Abrasax, after all. Wouldn’t do to make the _ton_ think the _entire_ family is genetically deficient.”

“You need me to show my support seeing as how I’m the reason the former First Prime is dead,” she stated in bald terms.

“Well,” it was Kalique’s turn to blink. “Yes, if not to put too fine a point on the situation. The Nakshatra are worried. I’m doing my best to shield you from their machinations, but I need you to give the appearance of support. If nothing else, at least show them that you have no designs on the position yourself.”

“First Prime?” Jupiter leaned back a step until she could brace herself on her desk. “Why would they think I want that?”

“My dear, as the Recurrence of a First Prime murdered while Sitting, you _do_ have a claim to it, albeit a small one. I told them that it was a ridiculous notion; you only wanted your Earth, you have no designs on our government, our way of life. But they were adamant that you make an appearance, a show of obeisance to the Imperium-”

“Kalique!” Jupiter interrupted. If she was surprised when the older woman snapped her mouth closed and turned her head away as though awaiting a blow, she didn’t show it. Kalique’s reactions were something she was going to have to think about later. “I don’t have any designs on your position as First Prime. And I’ll come to your ceremony. Just tell me what to do.”

“Oh,” Kalique turned away, sauntering in that way that all three Abrasax siblings had. “Such plans I had for you. And all of them for naught.” She flipped a hand, gesturing away her cryptic remark. “You’ll have to have a whole new wardrobe made; the ceremony is set for the beginning of the season. No end of parties, gatherings and the like. You’ll be expected to show for some, of course, anything official. But don’t worry my dear, with my guidance you should do just fine. Plus, you have business on Ardentis, settling your affairs and the like, so I can’t be expected to monopolize all your attention. I’m also sending someone; Jai Malcuthe, he’s a court tutor; to teach you the proper etiquette. He can help direct you to all the best splicing facilities should you need to fill out your court; eventually you’ll want them bespoke, but they can make do in the meantime.”

_Like hell,_ Jupiter thought, a smile on her face. “I’m grateful for the help. I wouldn’t want to embarrass the family.”

“Think nothing of it. Your formal entry into society will take planning, of course. Malidictes will handle it, I trust him to do right by you. If you need any assistance, please feel free to contact him. We need to be careful to introduce you to the _right_ people, of course.”

Jupiter inclined her head. “Of course,” she replied, all the while wondering who the ‘right people’ were. She thought of Earth, the jewel of the Abrasax wealth, and seemed to see behind it the shades of the other planets she now owned. And beyond them yet more worlds, equally vulnerable. _I don’t intend to play by their rules_ , Jupiter thought.

But first, she had to know what the rules _were_ to know which ones to bend and which ones to _break_. So Jupiter intended to listen, and memorize and take a great deal of notes.

“Good, I’ll see you in two seven-days. Farewell until then, darling Jupiter.”

Kalique turned away and shimmered into nothing. < _Link: Kalique Abrasax… end._ > Jupiter fell back against her desk with an exhale. Caine came forward to peer at her.

“What?”

“Are you really going to punish Lady Bow?”

Jupiter snorted. “Of course not. I just couldn’t stand the idea of someone being treated like property because I lost my temper.”

“So what are you going to do with her?”

“Give her a choice.”

Something like approval washed over his face, and he nodded before tilting his head to the closed library doors. “Should I bring in your candidates, or do you need a minute?”

Jupiter stiffened her spine and straightened away from the desk. “Send in Jake Static first, please.”

Caine inclined his head and complied.

When Caine returned, he had an android in tow. Jake Static. Like every other android Jupiter had met, their faces and bodies were physically perfect, though odd enough to ensure a certain type of charisma. Jake, unlike Gemma Chatterjee and Advocate Bob, was dark skinned with white hair; a curiosity, he called himself. Made to eye-pleasing specifications and originally trained as a body servitant, when his debt-contract had been paid, he’d sought training and employment elsewhere. Also, unlike the others she would take on today, as a Synthetic, Jake Static had even less rights than a splice. He couldn’t become a citizen, he couldn’t vote, and because he was synthetic in all but intelligence and emotion, he couldn’t reproduce so the need to support a family and all the rights and regulations afforded to the more fortunate were deemed irrelevant. Caine tired to explain that Synthetics were programmed with the need to be useful, so they worked until they malfunctioned, and then they continued to work in some fashion until they were no longer useful and were either disposed of or repurposed for parts. They were allowed downtime depending on how strenuous their jobs were and how generous their owners, but they weren’t given leave or vacation or even pay, really. They lived on the means afforded to them by their contract holders. It’s why so many Synthetics petitioned to work in government or military; it was there they were usually afforded the most benefits. Jupiter nonetheless asked him what he wanted.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I don’t understand the question.”

Jupiter leaned forward, making steady eye contact as she explained. “If you had no responsibilities, no duties elsewhere, what would you be doing?”

Instead of feigning ignorance or subtly differing any such notion, the android straightened in his chair and eyed his new employer with interest. “I am intensely interested in the history of politics and the repercussive influence it has on society as a whole. Is that something I would be allowed to study in my off-time?” His voice was low and smooth. He had none of the fidgeting qualities she’d noticed in Bob; he reminded her much more of Chatterjee.

“You may do what you like in your own time; I’m paying you for results, not time worked. If you can work smarter and not harder I’m all for it.” Jupiter was pleased enough that she began handing him the sheaves on her holdings. “I need an accounting; from what I was originally Willed from Seraphi, to what I’ve been awarded from Titus and Balem. I need to know what I have to work with.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“I want this planet protected.”

Jake’s head lifted. “You mean from smugglers looking to harvest?”

“I mean from harvesting, period.” Jupiter watched as his eyes widened before he titled his head thoughtfully. “I mean to make this a sovereign planet. My sovereign planet.”

“If the Commonwealth gets wind of this, your stock value will be cut in half. Earth is the wealthiest asset you own-”

“I’m aware of the difficulties and the ramifications. I don’t mean to make a spectacle of it, or have it done right away, but I mean to have it done. So I want you to look into the requirements, start the process. Quietly. Can you do that?”

“I can do that, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you,” Jupiter heaved a sigh, her greatest worry now in someone else’s capable hands.

Jake paused, a strange look on his face as he contemplated his new queen. “You are very welcome, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter smiled at him. “Do you need anything else from me?”

He lifted the sheaves. “These are enough for me to start. I only require a place where I may start working.”

Jupiter turned to Caine. “Put him in the dining room, give him anything he needs. Move my applicants into the living room to wait.”

Caine nodded and moved to do that. Jake stood but paused before moving away. “Shall I arrange standard contracts for your new servitants?”

A small smile appeared on Jupiter’s face. “Let Caine show you my standard contract. You can have at least two drawn up. Caine? Bring in the first three when you return?”

Caine nodded again, this time grinning. Jake eyed them both warily before following the splice. Before Jupiter could do much more than settle into her seat, the library doors were sliding open to admit three very different people. Caine followed, coming to stand quietly on her left. Jupiter eyed the three while she tentatively sent to Caine, < _Let me know what you think of each._ >

< _Of course, Majesty._ >

And then the interviews for the position of Steward began. The whole time she was interviewing them, Jupiter was forcefully reminded of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears.’ One, the only male in the group, looked completely human, although she knew from his profile that he had some kind of insect spliced into his DNA. He was forceful, to the point of annoying, in trying to impress Jupiter. He’d had this position before in two other, much smaller Noble Houses. And though he was the most qualified, there was something about him Jupiter didn’t like.

< _He smells desperate,_ > was all Caine had to say about him. But it was enough.

The second was some kind of deer or antelope splice. Her ears were long and flopped back. Her hair was a rich, red brown and fell in lush waves to her shoulders. Her skin, a warm auburn color, was clear and shone with health. Her clothes fit well and showed an obvious appreciation for the finer things while being restrained enough for her station. She’d been a Majordomo before, had actually been bought and trained for the position as her debt contract. After, she continued as Steward for the same Noble House. This would be her second stint as a Steward. Visually and on record, she looked the best, but there was something about her, the way she spoke; her eyes slightly narrowed and her nose upturned, as though she didn’t want to give Jupiter the time of day, as though Jupiter was less than she expected to be serving.

< _She thinks she’s better than you. Shall I have this disdainful creature removed?_ >

Jupiter almost snapped her fingers. _Disdainful_ , that had been the word she was looking for. Steward applicant #2 was disdainful.

The last was the most obviously spliced, her yellow and black stripped skin and short antennas showing her relationship with the scarab beetle she’d derived her characteristics from. Her black, shining hair was cut in an attractive bob, curling under her sharp chin and outlining her flattened ears. Delicate plates extended from the tip of her nose up onto her forehead and were repeated along the edges of her cheeks and jawbone. Her fingers, too, bore the stripped plating, extending the digits another knuckle until her fingers were almost twice again as long as a human finger should have been. But her manner was the most attentive and gracious. She actually flinched when applicant #2 said something slightly insulting to Jupiter. She had no background in Stewardship, but had been a tutor for a large household. When those children had grown, she’d sought to further her education and better her station. She wanted to gain citizenship so that she could have children of her own.

< _What do you think of her?_ >

< _She smells like summer in the crèche._ >

Jupiter blinked and actually turned to look at Caine over her shoulder. A flush swept over his cheeks and he shrugged apologetically, but didn’t offer up more than that. When she turned back around, it was to see the first two nearly arguing with each other over the best way to manage Her Majesty’s affairs, while the third; Stella Cetonii, glanced between herself and Caine with a surprised, but hopeful look on her face.

It was that last that finally decided her. She dismissed the others; Caine had to forcefully remove the young man when he started to beg.

“Stella Cetonii,” Jupiter started, calling her back when she would have followed Caine and the others out. “I can see from your profile that you still have some debt left on your original contract?”

Stella sat and blinked, before taking a deep breath. “Yes, Majesty, as well as the debt accrued from my additional training.”

“Okay. I’m going to pay both off, as well as sponsor you for citizenship.”

The yellow parts of her skin noticeably lightened, but her expression didn’t change. From that alone, Jupiter was impressed.

“Majesty?”

“I’m going to offer you a choice. I know your contract is up for auction, but with your debts paid off, you can go anywhere, do anything. You don’t have to work for me if you don’t want to. In fact, I prefer you don’t. I can imagine what the _ton_ are saying about me-”

“They call you the Barbarian Queen.” Stella murmured, and then froze.

Jupiter snapped her mouth shut and leaned back, eyes wide. Caine barked out a laugh before settling on the edge of Jupiter’s desk. It took a minute, but Jupiter found the humor in it. “The Barbarian Queen who no doubt murdered the Prime who murdered her pre-incarnation. I can imagine.” She glanced at Caine. “As you can see, I don’t quite conform to the standards you may be used to.” Caine just sat, unrepentant. Jupiter silently approved. “So you may not _want_ to work for me-”

“Oh, I think I do, Your Majesty.” Stella interrupted again. “This is the most exciting my life has ever been. And if Your Majesty allows, I will do my utmost to make your entrance into society a memorable one.”

“That’s fantastic, but if you interrupt me again we’re going to have words, understand?”

Caine tipped his head down. “She doesn’t like to be interrupted.”

“I don’t mind being contradicted, especially if I’m in the wrong. And please, don’t feel the need to bow and scrape around me; I’m sure to get plenty of that later, but I prefer honest opinions.”

“Just not interruptions.”

Jupiter whacked Caine hard enough on the hip that he yipped and jumped off the desk before assuming his regular position behind her left shoulder. Then she pointed at Stella, who was looking on in fascinated glee. “And don’t think for one minute that you can get away with what he does. That requires saving my life at least- how many times, Caine?”

“Four, Your Majesty.”

“Four times. Not to mention how many times he’s risked his life for mine. Got it?”

Stella nodded, her smile growing. Then she stood and gave a formal bow from the waist. “It would be my honor to serve Queen Jupiter Jones, Third Prime of House Abrasax, in any capacity Your Majesty may have for me.”

Jupiter came around the desk then and offered her hand. Stella hesitated a moment, and then shook it. “Welcome to my court, Stella Cetonii,” Jupiter intoned formally before grinning. “You may come to regret it.” Then she waved. “Jake will have your contract drawn up, let me know if there is anything that needs to be changed. We’ll start tomorrow. We’re taking my cruiser and inspecting my _alcazar_ on Callisto. Tonight, you’ll meet the family, _my_ family. And apparently in two weeks you’ll meet the rest of the family; I’m to present myself for Kalique’s Ascendant ceremony.”

Stella’s yellow skin lightened once more at the prospect of formally introducing an entirely new Abrasax household to the Imperium in just two weeks, but she stayed calm. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter admired her for it as she walked out on steady legs. “I like her.”

“Of course you do,” Caine snorted. “Round two?”

She eyed him. “You’ve been watching too much of that fake wrestling with Kiza and Stinger.”

“Never too much of that,” he showed his teeth and left to fetch the last three.

Jupiter sighed.

The next half hour went as expected, with the three last people pandering to what they thought Jupiter would need. Jupiter knew almost right away who she would choose. Sky Harper was a no nonsense older woman who had sixty years of cleaning, managing households and minding the children of Nobles under her belt. With a severe haircut, her pale brown hair was pulled back in a simple bun, only her eyes, larger and a bright, golden yellow, gave away that she was a hawk-splice. She reminded Jupiter of the flying teacher at Hogwarts.

Caine seemed suitably impressed. < _I think she could intimidate Stinger._ >

< _Good,_ > Jupiter replied, a small smile on her face.

When she offered the same deal to Sky Harper as she’d given to Stella Cetonii, Harper refused. “Thank you, Majesty. That’s very kind. But my original debt is paid, and I prefer to work off my remaining debt, if you don’t mind.”

Jupiter leaned back. “I don’t mind, but may I ask why?”

Sky eyed her for a moment, measuring whether or not she could be truthful without seeming disrespectful. “I don’t like being beholden to anyone but myself.”

“I would never hold your debt against you.”

Sky inclined her head. “Be that as it may, Your Majesty, I would feel beholden.”

“I don’t want you to work for me because you have to. It’s why I offered to pay off your debt.”

“And I thank you, Your Majesty. But I would still prefer to pay off the debt myself.”

< _I like her._ > Caine interjected. No expression beyond a slight curiosity on his face when Jupiter turned to look at him.

She smirked, < _You would. She’s honorable, like you._ > Her smile deepened when his cheeks flushed again. “All right. I accept.”

Sky stood and gave a deep bow from the waist. “It would be my honor to serve Queen Jupiter Jones, Third Prime of House Abrasax in my capacity as Majordomo of your Household.”

“Welcome to my court, Sky Harper,” Jupiter dutifully intoned before smiling. “My mother is going to love you. We have dinner tonight. Tomorrow we leave for Callisto _alcazar_ and we can begin going over anything you may need from me.”

Sky nodded and left the library just as Stinger entered, dressed in Legion black, an excited look on his face. “The Aegis is returning those other four. And I have news. They’re here.”

Caine seemed to catch his excitement, straitening up and extending his wings as a grin crossed his face.

Jupiter lifted a brow. “Who’s here?”

“The Skyjackers, Majesty.”

“What, here? Now? But the Legion carrier isn’t due until tomorrow.”

Stinger waved that away but continued to smile. “I just received a wave from Slate. They’re outside the system in a Protarch-class Corvette.”

Jupiter turned to Caine. “What does that mean?”

“It means they’ll be here in less than an hour.” Caine tilted his head at her, his grin turning slightly manic. “Would her Majesty care to visit the honey farm?”

“Seriously, what are you two planning?”

They both just grinned at her before moving quickly. Stinger left to ready the transport, while Caine ushered here into her bedroom to change. “Grav-boots, those trews I gave you. Something warm; you’ll want it, trust me.”

Jupiter stripped quickly, dressing in the clothes he suggested, all the while beginning to catch onto their excitement. “This is your old unit, isn’t it?”

Caine nodded while pulling on his own uniform. He fastened the shirt around his wings before mantling them and glancing at her. “Ready?”

She no sooner nodded than she was being pulled out of the room and through the hall. She only had a moment to shout, “It’s fine! The boys are just showing me something!” to the slightly worried faces of her family and court before Caine was pulling her out the door and into the stairs that led to the roof. Once outside, even though it felt like days since she’d woken up to Caine’s loving display, it was still early. The late morning sun was just starting to reach its zenith and the temperature was only just tipping above seventy degrees.

In a car, the trip to the Apini farm took a little over two hours. In the transport, it took just under twenty minutes. As they circled the house, Jupiter marveled at the changes made in a month’s time. Gone were the corn fields. They’d been replaced by a lush carpet of wildflowers and clover. In each corner of the fields were an arrangement of square boxes with their own cloud of bees. More than seven different hives altogether. Not to mention the one embedded in the walls of the farm house. The house, which had been heavily repaired and remodeled, now looked more like a southern mansion with its white-washed two stories, wrap around porch, and extended square feet.

They landed in the nearest clover field and headed inside to wait the half hour or so it would take the Skyjackers to get here. Stinger was just as excited as Caine, but he hid it better, sublimating it into showing Jupiter the new in the house. Kiza got into it about half way through, talking about all the improvements to the honey farm she’d been able to introduce. A lot of it went over Jupiter’s head, but she heard things like Langstroth frames, smoke, uncapping forks, a frame spinner, honey filter and, of course, pouring into pots after the honey matures. Her favorite part was getting a spoonful of the different types of honey Kiza was developing.

Before long, Caine was dragging her back out from the barn and into the open field where Stinger stood, arms crossed and wings out, his head tilted back to the sky.

“You won’t want to miss this, Majesty,” Stinger intoned when they joined him. He nodded his head upwards. “Here they come.”

Kiza grinned. “They’re showing off, how cute,” then she laughed when Stinger elbowed her.

Jupiter looked up, but despite how she squinted or shielded her eyes from the afternoon sun, she couldn’t see anything for a full minute. “Well, that’s annoying.”

“You’re not the only one,” Caine huffed, squinting up as well. Then he smiled. “Ah, there they are.” < _Up, Majesty, slightly to your right._ >

Jupiter startled to realize that her link with Caine was still open before she strained her eyes in the direction he was detailing, but all she could see was a streak of cloud and a dark speck. A speck that was getting steadily larger. “Oh, I see it!”

Caine and Stinger both laughed, but she couldn’t look away from them now she’d finally spotted what was coming.

“High altitude jump; Moore probably just skimmed the atmosphere to let them out.” Stinger hummed, a pleased sound erupting from his throat as the speck split apart into seven distinct objects. “Before joining them. He’s gotten better in the last decade.”

Caine’s grunt of agreement was lost as Jupiter began to hear the high pitch Doppler scream of something rocketing toward her at maximum speed. Just as she was starting to pick out the details of each individual, something occurred to her.

“Shouldn’t we be moving _out_ _of the way?_ ”

“Nope,” chimed all three standing beside her.

“I told you,” Kiza elaborated. “They’re showing off. Probably for you.”

“So we’re safe here? Standing right where it looks like they’re going to hit?”

“Of course,” Caine gave her a look. < _Don’t move, stay right where you are._ >

< _What-?_ >

< _Trust me, Majesty. You want to make a good impression, too. Be in awe of their abilities; but not **frightened** of them._>

Jupiter mentally shrugged and turned her face back up to watch. In what seemed like minutes, but was probably only seconds, the seven specks went from a bunched group to a single file line, and then slowly drifted into a perfect circle. Each one wore black from a shiny helmet to their grav-boots. Each one had wings, folded down against their body to improve aerodynamics as they aimed themselves to land in a near perfect circle around Jupiter.

As they fell closer, Jupiter felt her breathing hitch. They were within three hundred yards before each one in turn flipped upright by spreading their arms and wings. The bottoms of their boots fired and their wings pumped, rapidly slowing their momentum and allowing each to touch down, in sequence, with nothing more than a knee-bending _thud_. Their helmets peeled back into their collars to reveal seven very different, but excited faces. Before Jupiter could catch her breath, both Caine and Stinger stepped back into a deliberate vacant space until nine Skyjackers faced her in a perfect circle. They lifted a fist to their chest, took a knee and bent their heads in perfect unison. It was an impressive display of precision, strength and skill and it took a moment for Jupiter to remember what the Legionnaire guide had told her about accepting contracts from an elite group.

< _What do I do now?_ > Jupiter implored, spinning in a slow circle.

Caine’s voice inside her head was strangely laden when he said, < _Repeat after me; ‘If I face difficulties?’_ >

She gathered herself together enough to do as Caine was asking, turned to face Stinger, who was the CO of the group, and lifted her hand in entreaty. “If I face difficulties?”

The group answered in ringing unison. “ _Let my skills be yours_.”

<‘ _If all seems lost?’_ >

“If all seems lost?” As she repeated what Caine was saying her voice strengthened, coming from somewhere deep within.

“ _Let my honor be yours_.”

<‘ _If death should threaten?_ ’>

It was as if she remembered this. “If death should threaten?”

“ _Let my life be yours_.”

<‘ _I accept this bond-’_ >

Something within took hold, twisting the banal agreement that Caine was telling her and, fisting her entreating hand, she demanded, “If you fail to protect me?”

She heard Kiza suck in a gasp before the group answered the ritual, “ _Let my soul be yours_.”

“Then I am yours,” she purred. Something atavistic was satisfied within her, but Jupiter didn’t have a moment to figure out what before she was suddenly surrounded by armor-clad Skyjackers, all looking to meet, hug and touch their new Mistress. She didn’t have time to parse Caine’s wary look with each Skyjacker taking it in turn to introduce themselves to her.

Stinger and Caine she already knew, but she learned that Stinger, as their CO and Captain, was also a lead pilot and in charge of advanced special ops. Caine, to no surprise, was their hunter and navigator. What did surprise her was that he was also second in command as their Lieutenant and a Breecher. Whatever that was.

Serio Doone was completely human with olive tone skin, dark hair and clear, piercing gray eyes. As the Senior Warrant Officer and third in command under Stinger and Caine, he was the group’s interrogator, Air Ops and Close Air Support. His wings reminded Jupiter of a Great Blue Heron.

Kerr Zhao was also human, though her stock had a distinct Asian cast to it, her face flat, and her eyes and hair nearly black. As the team’s 2nd Lieutenant, she did double duty as engineer and site exploitation. Her hummingbird wings were a dark rainbow, but her smile was all vicious white.

The only cybernetic on the team was Slate Array, and as such he was the Sergeant in charge of communications and tech surveillance. He was also the only one on the team to have a double set of dragonfly wings to offset the weight of the comm-pack built into his body structure.

Hone Stripes was a badger splice with leathery fruit bat type wings. A big guy, he was all bright white smiles in a dark tan face with skunk hair and sharp teeth. Jupiter wasn’t as surprised as she maybe should have been to find out that he was also the team’s heavy weapons and ordinance officer. Every bit of his black uniform bulged with weapons.

Attached to Hone’s hip was Perrin Gray, a falcon-splice with wings very similar to Caine’s. But where Caine’s wings were brown gold and broad, Perrin’s wings were a pearl grey and delicately pointed, made more for agility than speed. She was the team’s sniper and scout, often out alone for days by herself. A quiet sort that always had a long, high-powered rifle cradled in her hands.

Corrine Tee was the team’s Medic and cybernetic tech, and zer wings were the pure, striped white of a Siberian Crane. Though completely human, Corrine was nevertheless a non-binary sexual null; identifying as neither he nor she; ze was calmly soothing in that way that all field medics seemed to acquire.

Last and smallest of the team was Negi Moore, a raven-splice as dark-skinned as his raven-like wings. Instead of hair, he had smooth, glossy feathers and claw-tipped fingers. He was small, compact, and quick. The team’s mechanic, he could drive or pilot just about anything with minimal fuss.

Each one was her responsibility now, and each one wanted to get to know their new queen in the time honored Skyjacker way. By flying.


	11. Event Horizon: Part V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So a bit of bonding and then we're heading out into space again. This chapter will answer some questions and raise a lot more, I'm sure. I hope you have as much fun reading this chapter as I had writing it.

Learning to play in the sky with a bunch of showboating Skyjackers was anything but relaxing. But it was fun. Mostly it felt like one giant game of keep-away being played with seven different people fighting against each other and forming arbitrary teams depending on their moods. With Jupiter as the ball. It took longer than she cared to admit to figure out that it was training and trust-exercise rolled into one. She had to learn the depth and breadth of their character, training and abilities and trust them to keep her safe while they had to learn to work with her and her lack of skills and training. It wouldn’t happen right away, but this was a good start.

By the time the sun was starting to go down, she was sore from her feet to the roots of her hair. Landing was an exercise in catching herself falling while the Skyjackers around her laughed and played like a pack of puppies reunited with their favorite toy after an endless day of being alone. Jupiter wasn’t quite sure how Stinger corralled them, but he got everyone down to the ground where, apparently, her newest additions to the house had prepared a luncheon fit to rival the local buffet. In the yard between the house and the barn, a table had been set up with stacks of plates and platters of food; corn on the cob, meats, fruits, potato salad, rolls with butter and honey, pitchers of lemonade and honey-sweet tea and coolers full of sodas and the dark ale that both Stinger and Caine preferred. She probably should be surprised to see her mother and aunt amidst the chaos but she wasn’t.

She put her boots to sleep and settled down onto one of the several logs scattered around the edge of the yard that acted as both unofficial fence to the surrounding flower gardens and bench. She wasn’t there long before a plate heaped with food and a cool glass of sweet tea was thrust into her hands and everyone started finding places to sit on the benches and in the grass around her. They talked, introducing themselves and catching up, passing drinks and spooning heaping servings onto plates while discussing _what_ they were serving to the people who were unfamiliar with the local delicacies. It wasn’t until after she took a bite of her corn on the cob, and then watched as everyone else _started_ eating that she realized they had been waiting for her to take the first bite.

That kind of unconscious deferential treatment made her marginally self-conscious while she continued nibbling. That’s when she noticed how they’d arranged themselves around her. Caine on the grass, his back against the log and his shoulder just rubbing her left knee. Stinger sat a little ways away, straddling the log to her right. The rest of her Skyjackers were in a loose semicircle around her with Kiza, her mother, aunt, Harper and Cetonii scattered between them. Jake had apparently deigned to stay back at the apartment, catching up on Her Majesty’s affairs.

As the afternoon settled into evening, someone brought out a cast-iron fire pit, some wood and all the accouterments for s’mores. Jupiter watched Caine carefully as he took in yet another thing he’d never experienced before. His expressions were a guilty pleasure as he carefully chewed the campsite treat. The marshmallows were crispy on the outside, gooey inside, all smoky, caramelized sweetness with rich, melted chocolate and subtle speculoos spice.

They sat on the benches, a comfortable distance from the roaring fire and listened to her mother and aunt sing songs from the old country. At some point, Nino had brought out a couple frosted bottles of Russian vodka so expensive the labels were in Cyrillic. Jupiter had no idea where she’d got them, but was grateful when she was given a small double-shot glass. The near frozen liquor when down so smoothly she didn’t feel the burn in her throat, only the heat in her belly and cheeks.

It was a bit strange, being an adult on the outside after so many years of being right up by the fire with her cousins, roasting marshmallows and casting shadow puppets. There were strong memories of those brief summers in her childhood.

“Have you ever done this before?” She asked Caine quietly during a lull in conversation.

“What, the campfire?”

She nodded.

He tipped his head in thought, carefully licking the sticky marshmallow and chocolate from his lips and fingertips before answering. “The smoke is rough on my nose after a while and the flames ruin night vision. And there were strict regulations while out on a mission planet-side.”

“That’s no fun.”

He shrugged. “Survival training.”

They sat there watching the wind-borne sparks float up and away from the flames. Body tired, belly full, cheeks warm and surrounded by those she loved and trusted, Jupiter felt something shift and relax inside her, as though she’d been uneasy her entire life before finding where she finally belonged. She found herself leaning hard into Caine’s shoulder, only noticing when he leaned back and gave her a curious half smile. She leaned down to him, her hand on the back of his neck and her nose in his hair, to whisper, “I’ll tell you later.”

He shivered in response. “As you wish.”

“Did you just quote ‘Princess Bride’ at me?”

“I thought it appropriate,” he smirked.

Jupiter curled her fingers a bit tighter into the short hair at the base of his skull when he twisted his head into her grip and she would swear he was part cat instead of wolf for the way he was practically purring under her hand. “Are you a rogue pirate now?”

“Kind of hard not to relate,” he curled tighter against her knee. “Living your life; not exactly comfortably, but you can handle it and things are slowly getting better when something knocks you completely off course and you find yourself fighting kings and dukes and saving the damsel in distress with remnants of the Brute squad.”

“Huh,” Jupiter blinked, stunned to realize that her life was surprisingly like the plot of a movie. She grinned, catching his eye. “Not to mention taking on a squadron of Shadows with nothing but a shield and grav boots, flying through a War-Hammer blockade and diving through a planet-sized hurricane in a Zero.”

He winked at her. “Not to mention.”

“Holy shite! That really _was_ you?”

The Skyjackers around her proceeded to politely interrogate Caine and then Stinger on their exploits surrounding Jupiter’s ascension, widening the eyes of her three newest employees and making her mother’s and aunt’s face turn steadily whiter as the story went on. When they got to what happened in Jupiter’s Eye, she cleared her throat and stood, ending the discussion and catapulting the Skyjackers into action. They cleaned and cleared the yard in impressive time and with only a few looks from Stinger, Caine and Serio, split their guard duties accordingly.

While Jupiter blinked in exhaustion, everyone was rounded up into a pair of transports like Stinger’s Cutter named _Triakis_ and _Scyllium_. Before she knew it, they were parking on the roof of her apartment building and trudging down the stairs. She, Caine, her mother and aunt turned one way in the hall while Stinger and the others followed Sky Harper into the other apartment that had been bought and renovated for the rest of her court earlier that week. Jupiter murmured a goodnight to the room and turned toward her bed. She stripped her boots and jacket off, vaguely aware of Cain closing the bedroom door behind her, and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Breaking out of atmosphere in a Caravel, a medium sized transport called _Cygnus_ that looked more like a pond strider than the swan it was named for, Jupiter watched with no little awe as they approached the dark side of the moon where Captain Tsing’s Destroyer class _Leucas_ floated alongside the only slightly smaller Cruiser class _Isurus_. The Aegis ship _Leucas_ was a heavyweight hammer, bristling with weapons, visible defenses, and numerous ports for a small fleet of fighters. Next to the Destroyer, the Cruiser looked a delicate chisel with bladed wings and spines. Under _Isurus_ ’ belly hung the sharp lines of the Skyjackers’ Corvette _Remora_ , doing a stunning impression of its namesake. In the shadow of both larger ships crept a Legionnaire Frigate, dark and dangerous, and the reason Jupiter was up and off planet so early this morning.

Lieutenant Cofe had commed Stinger that morning to inform him that the Frigate _Galeocerdo_ had arrived with Her Majesties Royal Guard Appointment, and could Her Majesty please come up and receive them so that the _Galeocerdo_ can be on its way, as it had another stop to make before leaving this sector? Stinger had shrugged, decided not to share that the next stop for the frigate was picking up the few legionaries at the Jupiter refinery, and gone to wake Caine which had the added bonus of waking Jupiter who decided they might as well get on with her trip to Callisto. It had taken a surprisingly short amount of time for Sky to organize everyone into the _Cygnus_ and be on their way, especially when she had hot coffee and hearty breakfast sandwiches from the dinner on the corner for everyone.

In the docking bay, which reminded Jupiter of Titus’ ship but was thankfully a lot less gothic playboy mansion, they were greeted by the Captain of the _Isurus_ , Latrell Sting and her twin sister Lianas who was the communications officer. Both were bee-splices, their genomingineering much more obvious than Stinger’s, as both had black antennas poking out of their short black hair above oddly reflective, larger than normal dark eyes. Both sets of eyes widened appreciatively when they caught sight and scent of Jupiter.

The pair bowed so low when Jupiter stopped in front of them, that their backs were nearly parallel to the floor. “Your Majesty,” Captain Latrell straightened with a strained smile. “Please be welcome aboard the _Isurus_. We were so pleased to receive your summons. It has been too long since Your Presence has-”

“Thank you,” Jupiter interrupted and ignored the startled looks she received in turn, in no mood to entertain the notion of being Seraphi’s reincarnation, especially when she had so many reminders in her own head. “Not to skip the pleasantries, but is there somewhere large enough for me to receive Legionnaires, meet some of your crew, and do some business while we set course to Callisto?”

Behind her, she heard Caine sigh, Stinger snort and someone, most likely Kiza, giggle while the bee sisters shared a look and admirably collected themselves.

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Lianas stepped back and lifted a hand. “If you’ll follow me? I’ll show you to the Receiving Room.”

The group stepped forward _en_ _masse_ with her mother, aunt and the others following behind her while the Skyjackers ranged around in a rough circle despite traveling through the occasional narrow corridor. As they walked, Jupiter tipped her head back and to the left so she could mouth the words ‘ _Receiving_ _Room_ ’ at Caine only to get a smirk and a warm hand at the small of her back in response. She must not have been subtle enough because she saw the bee sisters frown at each other again before Lianas launched into a remarkably detailed accounting of all the changes they’d made to accommodate her list of preferences.

“I sent a list?” Jupiter asked the air.

The bee sisters flinched.

Jupiter reminded herself to address that first chance she got.

Caine leaned forward, “The Keepers, Majesty.”

“Oh, right. Where is Tweak? I thought I saw him sneak aboard the _Cygnus_ when we were taking off.”

Stinger huffed. “He, George and a cadre of Shadows followed us and are likely to remain on Callisto as long as Your Majesty is in attendance.”

“Ah-” Jupiter was about to comment on Stinger’s choice of words when they turned a corner and stepped through a pair of arched double doors. “Oh, wow.”

The Receiving Room was impressive for the space it occupied. Forty feet wide and at least sixty feet long, the room was tiled in polished sand colored slate. Along the walls which were draped in aqua silk and framing the vast space were twelve stone pillars in pink sandstone. Between the pillars, arranged in artful comfort, were couches, settees, lounges, chairs, and tables all in bright white and floating on that weird blue light that Jupiter had come to associate with anti-gravity. The unceasing white furniture was offset with vibrant jewel-toned cushions, vases, bowls and the occasional throw blanket. Old style brass lanterns hung on hooks just above head height from each of the pillars, casting a warm, inviting glow over the seating arrangements. Tilting her head back, Jupiter stared until her eyes adjusted to the visual illusion of ombré silk and shadowed pillars rising to a vaulted ceiling painted deepest black and decorated with the million pinpoint pricks of light that made up the Milky Way. At the center back, in the place of honor on a slightly raised dais, was an elegant white peacock chair in a honeycomb design with an intricate flower and bee motif woven through in gleaming gold, silver and mother of pearl. Wide enough to seat three if she so desired, the seat also floated above the ground at the perfect height for Jupiter to sit comfortably.

“Ooooo-kay,” Jupiter hummed as she took it all in. “I completely approve. Good job whoever put all this together.”

Stinger snorted again while Caine just shook his head. It was signal enough to the rest of her entourage to make themselves comfortable while she approached the throne with apprehension.

“It won’t bite,” Caine whispered in her ear, causing Jupiter to jump slightly.

“Says you,” she huffed at him before turning back to the chair. She took a deep breath and, deciding to just roll with it, climbed the three steps of the dais, turn and plopped her behind on the lush looking white cushions. She wiggled until she was comfortable, reached back and pulled one of the cushions out to toss onto the floor at her feet, and finally settled only to find Caine giving her a fond look, Stinger staring up at the ceiling pretending _not_ to notice whatever his queen was doing, and Kiza giving her a silent, slow clap.

Jupiter scratched her nose with her middle finger at Kiza and rolled her eyes before eyeing Caine. When he did nothing but lift a brow at her, she smirked, kicked the cushion to her left a bit and then tilted her chin at him in challenge. Caine raised his other brow, glanced between her and the cushion for a second before side-eyeing Stinger with a shifty expression. Kiza hiccupped a laugh as Caine dropped to sit on the cushion and lean against Jupiter’s left knee. Stinger just heaved a sigh like he didn’t know what to do with any of them before turning to business.

Almost immediately, the rhythmic thumping of many boots on metal corridors could be heard. Subtle though they were, Jupiter could tell her Skyjackers were on alert, moving her mother and aunt to a seating area even with her throne on the left. Sky and Kiza went to sit with them, followed by Corrine, zer crane wings almost disappearing into the white cushions. Slate and Jake stood just behind them whereas Hone and Perrin came to stand in front. While Stella moved to stand just behind Caine on the dais, Serio none too subtly nudged the bee sisters to the opposite side on the throne, coming to stand just to the right of Stinger. Negi climbed the dais to lurk in the shadows behind the throne and Kerr draped herself over the steps in front while Stinger and Serio watched in horror. When she propped a boot on Caine’s knee and twisted until she was head down on the dais, her iridescent hummingbird wings spread on the steps beneath the spill of her long, black hair, Jupiter had to admit that she looked more like a decoration than a deadly Skyjacker. On top of distracting those not observant enough to notice that her guard were Skyjackers, her positioning had the added effect of warding off anyone who approached too closely lest they step on her.

Almost as if on cue, the doors opened and let in three columns of marching soldiers all clothed in Legion black. At the front of the columns was an impressive looking man with a mane of reddish hair and thick sideburns. His black uniform was burnished bronze at the shoulders and across the collar bones, signifying his command of a company and his rank. This was Captain Fang Wen, a leonine-splice and commander of her newly appointed Royal Guard. Jupiter recognized the ranking only because it was the same as Stinger’s and wondered momentarily if she was going to have an issue there. Behind him, at the head of each column were the section leaders, each one a ranking Lieutenant equal to Caine.

In the center column and the most obviously recognizable, was Lieutenant Ceres Bicorn, and rhino-splice and leader of her Legionnaire Ground Forces. Thirty-six soldiers strong, a good portion of them being obviously spliced for strength and speed, it was the largest group Jupiter was getting today. These would be the men, women and cybernetics that would secure her ships and _alacazar_ , wherever she may stay. They were trained for close combat and heavy artillery. One of the three cybernetics was literally built like a tank, his broad shoulders barely making it through the wide double doors. Jupiter idly wondered if she would have to make special accommodations for him.

The right column was the smallest with eighteen soldiers led by Lieutenant Jefferi Aves, a hawk-splice. This was her Sky Squad, a fearless group of pilots who would be manning the fighters should she come under attack. This group was made up of lanky adrenaline junkies, half of which were human with cybernetic implants, the other half carefully spliced with creatures whose senses were better and reflexes faster than normal.

The last column on the left was led by Lieutenant Rufus Wolfe, a lycaon-splice and leader of the Legionnaire Special Forces lycantant pack. All twenty-five – their Lieutenant included – fifteen men and ten women, were lycaon-splice and blood-bonded pack-mates. Seeing a pack of lycantants made Jupiter realize why Caine was called a runt. They weren’t giants, but all of them were over six feet tall, the males broad shouldered with tapered waists and thick thighs, and the females lithe and sleek like runners. And all of them were dark-haired and dark eyed with caramel colored skin. Some even had the suggestion of striping or spots on their cheeks and down their bare arms and continued into a kind of brindle pattern in their hair.

Jupiter knew this last group would be a problem despite assurances to the contrary because from the moment they’d walked into the room, Caine had gone stiff with tension. As the columns came to a stop a few feet from the bottom step of the dais, she could feel the low rumble of Caine’s growl against her shin. It wasn’t audible to human ears, but she could tell that the other lycantants heard it because each and every one of them was eyeing Caine. When his growl ramped up, Jupiter nudged him with her knee and noticed Kerr do the same with the toe of her boot without taking her eyes off the troops lined upside down in front of her.

Caine subsided, but only so that he could lean more heavily against her knee, spreading his wings and none too subtly hiding her behind them.

Coming in behind the Legionnaires so unobtrusively that Jupiter almost didn’t notice them was the rest of Captain Latrell’s bridge crew as well as the _Isurus_ ’ Legionnaire Administer followed by Captain Tsing, Phylo Percadium and Gemma Chatterjee, her First Officer and Communications Officer. Behind her was yet another ship’s captain and two crew members that Jupiter could only assume were from the Frigate. She wondered if those two were First Officer and Communications respectively, and if that was the norm for ship Captains to bring. It would certainly explain why Latrell had only brought her sister to meet Jupiter in the docking bay, as Lianas was both First Officer _and_ Communications. Jupiter made a mental note to ask about it.

Before anyone else could speak up, Stella stepped forward. “Her Majesty, Jupiter Maxine Bolotnikov Jones, Third Prime of House Abrasax, Signified Recurrence of Seraphi Abrasax-”

Jupiter nearly rolled her eyes when she remembered the argument the week earlier about her names and titles before tuning back in to what Stella was saying.

“-has generously offered to pay the remaining debt-”

_That_ had been another argument. For though Caine and Stinger could understand her need to not feel like she was enslaving people in any way, shape or form, Stinger disliked the idea of rewarding Legionnaires before they’d done anything for her. But Jupiter was adamant. She did not want people working for her that did not want to be there.

“-all those remaining here have agreed to these terms and-”

She knew when she accepted the contracts for her Royal Guard and offered them the same deal that she’d lose some of them. Her original Legionnaire sheaves contained over one hundred and thirty names. After offering her terms, the Legionnaires remaining numbered just under eighty, only a handful of which had families and significant others to bring. All total, she was accepting just over one hundred new people into her court, not including her nine Skyjackers, the few family members they’d brought, her three new employees, and her mother and aunt.

“-what say you?”

As one, the Legionnaires dropped to one knee, lifted a fist to their chests and bent their heads. “ _Let our skills, our lives, and our honor be yours_.”

She’d lost an entire section of fighters but gained the loyalty of those remaining, dubious as that may be. Jupiter stood, careful not to move out from behind Caine’s protective wing and lifted her hand in a gesture she now understood to mean she was accepting the burden of their lives and giving hers in return in a galactic form of _noblesse oblige_. “I accept this bond,” she felt more than heard Caine’s renewed growl and nudged him again with her knee.

Late last night, after a brief nap before changing into sleep clothes and climbing back into bed, Jupiter had asked Caine about the ceremonial words. He’d been mostly uncommunicative until she’d climbed on top of him and stared him down.

“It’s a ritual,” he whispered.

“Yeah, got that part,” Jupiter whispered back. “Why did everyone react like I’d zapped them at those last words?”

He blinked, and a soft look of wonder came over his face. “Because you did.”

“What?”

And Caine had explained. The Oath is a binding promise, grafted into their very DNA. Never given lightly, a splice literally cannot disobey, the loyalty to those given the words was coded into their genome. They will give their very lives and souls for Jupiter. When she stared down, a dawning look of horror on her face, he’d cupped her cheeks because he understood her horror came from the thought of taking away their freedom, not that she had their faith and trust. “We had the choice to give our oath. That cannot be forced, though I’m sure some entitled have gotten around that through coercion and manipulation. But you weren’t manipulating us. We’re a strike force, trained to be independent and to act without orders or a handler for months, years at a time if necessary. You don’t have the ruthlessness capable of coercing The Oath from us.”

She blinked, relaxing marginally. “Then why did you give it?”

He tipped his head, his smile sweetly sincere. “Because you asked it of me.”

“And the others? Why would they give it? They don’t know me.”

“They know Stinger,” Caine shrugged. “They trust him and he trusts you with Kiza. For them, there can be no higher recommendation for you.” Then he peered at her curiously. “How did you know it?”

Jupiter had no answer for him then, or now, and tried to put that out of her mind as she recited the milder form of The Oath that didn’t demand perfect obedience from her Royal Guard, or cause something in their DNA to force them to obey her. “Stand and be welcome in my Court.”

As the Legionnaires stood, Jupiter sat and felt Caine resettle against her. Stinger beckoned and Captain Fang Wen stepped forward, a sheave in his hand only to stop abruptly with his foot on the bottom step as Caine’s fierce growl ripped through the room, silencing any other sound.

Deeper than any wolf she’d ever heard, the sound raised the hair on Jupiter’s neck and, if the still way Captain Wen and even Stinger were eyeing Caine, induced that same feeling of hunted prey in hardened soldiers.

A quiet shift of iridescent black feathers and a sound like silk sliding over stone drew eyes to the hummingbird splice at Jupiter’s feet and the darkly gleaming throwing knives she suddenly had in each hand. Jupiter had no doubt that even on the floor and upside down, Kerr Zhao would hit her target. Suspecting that one wrong move could set everyone off, Jupiter leaned forward and put a hand on the base of Caine’s neck. Sliding her fingers forward until they curved over his throat, she caressed his ear with her thumb and murmured, “If I don’t accept the Legionnaires’ contracts, who will my Skyjackers show off to that will truly appreciate all your many impressive skills?”

Though quiet, her voice carried in the tense stillness and she noticed the renewed interest of the Legionnaires before her as they took in those around the dais, seeing anew the wings, boots and weapons that had so far been overlooked in the pomp and ceremony. Jupiter heard a strangled sound off to her left that was no doubt Kiza trying to restrain her amusement. Stinger’s resulting glare confirmed her theory but she had attention only for her wolf, reaching out to the link they’d established that morning in order to talk to him without the others knowing.

< _Caine, what’s wrong?_ >

Irrationally, her reminding him of their connection seemed to be the key to calming him, his feathers smoothing and his muscles relaxing back against her. < _I’m sorry, Majesty. I was reminded too strongly of Ores. One of Titus’ soldiers had been a leonine-splice._ >

Jupiter blinked, remembering the time they’d been surrounded by guns, Stinger’s betrayal and Titus’ smirking aide, Famulus. She leaned back, but kept her hand on Caine’s shoulder, watching as Stinger warily stepped forward again to address Captain Wen. < _Is that all?_ >

Caine leaned into the fingers caressing the nape of his neck, needing the reassurance. < _The lycantant pack brings back memories of the crèche._ >

Ah. And all that he’d lost since being born the runt of his litter. Jupiter’s attention moved from the proceedings in front of her to the line of Legionnaires Special Forces standing at attention to the left. Though they were to a one, eyes front, she could tell that their Lieutenant and leader was nearly quivering, so focused was he on Caine. His regard wasn’t admonishing, but strangely approving. Jupiter narrowed her eyes, wondering.

Before she could raise the question with Caine, Stella stepped forward to physically accept the sheaves containing the Legionnaires’ contracts from Captain Wen for her Royal Guard. Jupiter turned her attention to the other Captain, addressing him for the first time. “As my Royal Guard I expect you to retain the security of my Court and any household I may be inhabiting, but you will be working with Captain Stinger Apini, as he is responsible for my personal security as well as the security of my family. Am I understood?”

Captain Wen slapped his fist to his chest and bowed low, accepting the appointment for his entire company. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

“Good,” she turned to eye the Captain of the Legionnaire Frigate. “I’m assuming my Guard and all their people and possessions have been brought onto the _Isurus_?”

Latrell stepped forward, bringing the other captain and his two crewmembers with her. “Your Majesty, this is Captain Randall Shaw of the _Trujillo_.”

Captain Shaw bowed low before rising. “Your Majesty.”

“Any problems along the way?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

When he didn’t continue or move to introduce his crew to her, Jupiter mentally shrugged. She could appreciate a man just wanting to do his job and be on his way. “Thank you for your service, Captain Shaw, but if there’s nothing else?” When he shook his head, she continued, “Then you’re free to return to your duties.”

Captain Shaw bowed low and then about-faced, gesturing his crew to follow as he left. Captain Latrell took his place, her sister and the five others who’d followed her into the Receiving Room lined up behind her. “Your Majesty,” she began, without moving one step closer than Captain Wen, who still stood one foot on the bottom step in front of Stinger. “These are my command crew. You know First Officer Lianas Sting in charge of Communications.” The sister gave a low bow and Jupiter nodded back. “This is Dana Plexi, our Navigation Officer.” The smallish woman who bowed next was dark skinned with bright orange-red hair, long fingers, and something that looked like black ferns for ears.

When Jupiter tapped the back of Caine’s neck with her thumb, he clarified for her. < _Insect splice, probably butterfly, like your Monarch._ >

< _Thank you, Caine._ >

He rumbled a pleased purr sound under her hand and she turned her attention back to the proceedings.

“Vespa Pepsini, my Tactical Officer.” < _Wasp-splice,_ > Caine offered without prompting. “Dorset Sting, my Chief Engineer.” < _Bee-splice,_ > and judging by the resemblance, another sister.

< _A lot of insects on this boat,_ > Jupiter commed.

< _Your pre-incarnation had most of the crew outfitted from a splicer in a single order. Nearly seventy percent of the personnel aboard are bee-splice sisters from a single colony. It makes them incredibly efficient and incredibly loyal to you, Majesty._ >

< _Is that why Stinger approved the ship and all on board so quickly?_ >

Caine tipped his head in a slight nod. < _That was my understanding._ >

“Hmm,” Jupiter hummed, catching when the Legion Administrator, Chan Anders was introduced only to be completely distracted when Latrell motioned to the last of her crew standing behind her.

“This is Aranea Strand, Chief Medical Officer.”

Jupiter noticed the lack of familiarity from Captain Latrell; she’d introduced the others with ‘my’ and ‘our’, but Aranea, pronounced _ah-ran-nyuh_ , was on her own. And no wonder, an arachnid-splice in the midst of all these insects. Jupiter wondered if it was their nature that made them uncomfortable, or the woman herself. Jupiter had to admit that she looked rather unusual, even amongst other splices. Pale skin with short, gold hair tucked behind smallish ears were where the human likeness ended. In her narrow face Aranea had two pairs of eyes; a normal, human looking pair just where you’d expect them, and then another with double pupils sitting just above and to the outside between her eyebrow and temple. Below her neck she bore a double pair of shoulders and four arms, all long limbed and graceful as she bowed.

Jupiter nodded back before addressing Captain Latrell. “How are preparations for our trip to Callisto?”

“Nearly ready,” Latrell straightened. “We need only to seal the docks, prep the crew and secure passengers and belongings before we can be underway. The _Remora_ is locked in place. I’m assuming the Aegis will be following through their own portal?”

At that, Captain Tsing stepped forward. “With Your Majesty’s permission?”

“Of course,” Jupiter smiled. “I hear you and your ship are being reassigned as escort for me?”

“Until the end of this term, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter had learned that she’d come into her Royal Commission somewhere near the beginning of the fourth year. That meant she’d get Captain Tsing as her Aegis escort for the next three years, until the Nakshatra reconvened in official Session. So, in the words of a recent pseudo-relative of hers; “Excellent. Let’s get underway, shall we?”

Both Captains bowed and turned, taking most of their crew with them. Only Chan Anders, the Legionnaires Administrator who no doubt wanted to discuss the particulars of her new Royal Appointment, and interestingly enough, Aranea Strand stayed. Jupiter watched as Captain Wen turned to officially dismiss the Legionnaires to quarters for the jump. Most left immediately; a good portion of the Ground Forces and nearly all of the Sky Squad, but none of the Special Forces. Those that didn’t leave took over a few sections of the seating areas as soon as they determined that Jupiter wasn’t going to punish them for sitting. The lycantant pack quickly commandeered an entire section for themselves closest to the doors and sprawled over the furniture and each other while keeping an eye on the entrance and the proceedings.

Jupiter wondered if they were doing it out of habit or if it was a strategic move. The way Caine slowly relaxed next to her made her think that Lieutenant Wolfe, who was casting repeated glances toward her throne, had done the move on purpose and resolved to find out why and possibly thank him for his thoughtfulness.

The trip would take a little under two hours, with the port the shortest part, being only a few minutes to open and then travel through. The majority of the time would be moving a safe distance from the gravity of Earth’s moon, and then negotiating between the gravity of the gas giant Jupiter and its second largest moon to find a safe orbit above the Callisto _alcazar_.

As the people settled down to wait the short trip, Jupiter noticed a few, like her, having to take supplements to weather to portal easier. She vaguely remembered the cramping and gas she’d suffered after the emergency jump from Balem’s facility when she and Caine had been outside the ship. It was not something Jupiter ever wanted to do again, though she was amused at the looks from her mother and Aunt Nino when Corrine explained what the pill was for.

Just then a small fleet of servitors came through the doors carrying trays of drink and food only to be followed by even more people. It was these that caused a commotion among the Skyjackers. Kerr, who up until that point had been doing a good impression of napping at Jupiter’s feet, jackknifed upright, literally launched off the dais and flew over the people to smack herself into a petite woman with long, dark hair and a dancer’s grace. They landed in a heap on the floor amidst glad cries and happy tears.

Stinger chuckled, “I guess Kylee made it.”

“Kylee?” Jupiter raised both brows to see the two rolling on the floor, laughing.

“Her twin,” Caine explained. “They were separated as teenagers. Both had been trained as dancers as children, and while Kerr got lucky and was bought by an entertainment house that specialized in gymnastics until her injury led her to the Legion, Kylee was bought by a Red House.”

“Red House?”

“A pleasure house,” Stinger explained, the disgust clear on his face. “She’d been re-trained as a pleasure servitant, with no choice in the matter of those she serviced.”

Jupiter hissed. “How’d she…?”

“Kerr used her Legionnaires pay to buy her sister’s remaining pre-debt instead of her own. It’s why she was the only Skyjacker to take you up on your contract payout.” Stinger clarified, “The rest of us have served more than one term in the Legion; enough to pay off our own pre-debts and then some.”

Jupiter blinked. She had not known that. Turning back to the floor, she noticed a second woman followed by two young children come over to Serio who immediately brought them to the front of the dais to be introduced. The woman was Maggie Doone, a magpie-splice, Serio’s wife and mother to his two children; Sari who was ten, and Ephron who was eight.

“I hear you’re a seamstress?” Jupiter had actually overheard Serio boasting that his wife could _sew the pants off any of those Imperial peacocks_ , but she wasn’t about to say that.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Maggie was a lovely woman with dark eyes and hair, whose only tell that she was a magpie-splice was the abundance of glittering jewels on her hair, on her ears, wrists and fingers. “I was trained as a couture seamstress for the _haute monde_.”

Jupiter turned to look at Stella, who gave a nod. “Well then, if you’re looking for a job…?”

Maggie’s eyes widened and she glanced back at Serio who smiled encouragingly. “I would be honored, Your Majesty.”

“In that case,” Jupiter grinned and straightened in her chair, “I think Stella and I have some ideas for you to get started with right away. Just as soon as Jake-” she caught his eye over her left shoulder before continuing, “Over there has your signature – I’m assuming my standard contract is all right?” As she asked the question, she directed her gaze to Serio, knowing that he would understand but unsure if he’d explained it to his wife.

Serio’s eyes lit up. “That would be wonderful, Your Majesty.”

Maggie looked confused, but elated. “It would?”

“Trust me, love,” Serio assured. “It is.”

“All right,” Maggie turned back to Jupiter. “Those ideas, Your Majesty?”

“Stella will get them to you as soon as all the legalities are complete. Believe me, you’ll be put to work right away. I’m to be presented to the Nakshatra for Kalique’s Ascension Ceremony in two weeks.”

“Weeks?”

“Two seven-days,” Jupiter clarified and watched Maggie’s skin pale. She gestured to her Majordomo standing beside Jake. “Don’t worry, Sky will make sure you get everything you need and then some. I’m not about to throw you in the deep end expecting miracles.”

“You aren’t?”

Serio chuckled at her lost tone and led her away after Jupiter nodded at him. “She’s a very different kind of entitled, our queen…” he was saying as he guided Maggie to the side.

Jupiter watched all the while scrolling through her com-link. < _Initialize link: Jake Static._ > Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the way the synthetic froze for a moment.

< _How may I be of service, Your Majesty?_ >

< _Serio and Maggie’s children; if you haven’t already, make arrangements for their education and training, and make sure to offer to pay for them._ >

His head came up, though he continued speaking with Maggie and Serio Doone as though he weren’t holding two separate conversations. < _You wish to employ the children as well?_ >

< _Not like that,_ > Jupiter frowned. Speaking this way without the full projection of self wasn’t quite like taking on a phone. It was more like a direct conversation mind to mind; there was some emotional crossover. With Caine, she could feel his affection and a welling of fierce determination to protect her. Jake was projecting a jarring blankness. She took it as his unvoiced disapproval and explained, < _If they have any pre-debt, offer to pay it off. Make sure they understand that it is not compulsory nor conditional of their servitude. Should the children wish a place in my court alongside their parents, please find a suitable position and offer to fund the training. If not, make sure that they know I’m willing to make accommodations for them. Understand?_ >

< _I believe I do, Your Majesty._ > This time his mental voice radiated approval and something else. Admiration? Fondness?

Jupiter mentally shrugged. < _Thank you, Jake._ >

< _My pleasure entirely, Your Majesty._ >

Jupiter turned her attention back to the proceedings just in time to hear Kerr introduce her sister and boast about how good her cooking was. When she met Kerr’s grinning visage, she understood. Turning to look at Stella, Jupiter was met with a raised brow.

“Not my area, Majesty.”

Jupiter leaned further back in her seat so that she could shout, “Sky! I think I’ve found you a cook!”

There was a great deal of laughter and more than one person muttering “ _Oh, good,_ ” before Sky shouted back, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

“You’re welcome, Sky!”

Most around her erupted into laughter with the exception of Stinger slapping a hand to his forehead and muttering under his breath and Captain Wen, who looked on in fascinated horror.

It was then that the lights dimmed for a half second before the ship voice announced, “ _The Isurus has made the jump to Jupiter and will be entering Callisto space momentarily. Geosynchronous orbit will be achieved in just forty-five minutes._ ”


	12. Interlude IV: Cleta in the Caelo System

The fourth planet in the third system to be populated by humanity was seat the House of Abrasax and home to a number of a noble and great houses. On the planet’s southern continent, in the center of the most stable part of the largest landmass, sat a gleaming spiral galaxy of a massive city, its shining center culminating in the Capitol; Brasax. There, in the Capitol building, amidst a three day celebration in a hall easily the size of the Chrysler Building laid on its side, the head of every House and Family that called the planet home congregated to mingle, deal and backstab before readying themselves to present a united front during the Nakahara Summit.

“We may have an issue,” Prime of House Kress brought up in the private hall just outside the grand receiving room, his attendants keeping a wary distance when he waved a hand at them.

Joined by five more Primes from Cleat shedding their own attendants, they gathered in as much secret as they could during a gathering of this magnitude.

Prime of Noble House Yon shook her head. “It is none of her doing.”

“A calamity of errors,” Prime of House Ason agreed. “She has been the center of several plots that have backfired against those who plotted against her.”

“By accident or design,” Prime of House Vyne clarified, “Doesn’t matter. Things are in flux.”

“They are indeed,” Prime of House Azure agreed. “More than I think we know.”

“How so?”

“The Mayoral House of this planet, one of the most powerful dynasties in the galaxy had, for a moment, four Primes.” Prime Azure pointed out. “Now it has two.”

“Don’t you mean three?” Prime Yon asked.

“No, I mean two.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a quick update and tease while I put the finishing touches on the next chapter. Soon to be updated, don't worry!


	13. Event Horizon: Part VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a long chapter to make up for the short tease of before. Also, I've updated the rating to explicit for reasons.
> 
> Enjoy!

Callisto is the fourth moon from Jupiter, situated just outside the gas giant’s magnetosphere and main radiation belt, making it marginally habitable. Even then, the _alcazar_ was not located directly on the surface of the moon, but rather several hundred meters below the surface. Besides the obvious reasons for avoiding the surface; keeping the _alcazar_ hidden, low atmosphere, protection from solar radiation and space debris; the subsurface ocean actually powered the entire base through tidal currents as well as heating and stabilizing the nearly negative one hundred and forty degree Celsius surface temperature.

“ _Welcome to Callisto, Your Majesty_ ,” the _alcazar_ greeted, sounding like a young boy.

And the _alcazar_ was huge. Easily the size of an aircraft carrier, the base spiraled into the depths of the moon like a classic beehive while dripping with the kind of opulence Jupiter might have imagined in a six-star hotel in Dubai. The outer corridor ran the entire height of the _alcazar_ and consisted of a wide spiraling staircase interspersed with several grav-lifts for each floor.

There were thirty-seven levels, with the top two being the dock and the bottom seven being dedicated solely to the electronic, water, waste, and heat conservation maintenance of the base. Just above those were the servitant levels, of which there was an entire crew of two hundred tertiary humans and droids who lived on the base awaiting its owners. The next twenty levels were dedicated for security, guests, living and entertainment, and a sundry of other things, of which the central three were for Jupiter and Jupiter alone.

Running from top to bottom in the center of the facility, was a tube bigger around than her uncle Vassily’s house, filled with water from the ocean below and populated by the native creatures whose own natural bioluminescence was attracted to the heat and light of the _alcazar_. And those native creatures were very different from anything Jupiter had seen before. From creatures that looked like sharks but were see-through like jellyfish, skeletal-looking fish with sails, literal glowing balls with rows of serrated teeth, to swarms of things that glowed like multi-colored LEDs and flew through the water like tiny bats but ravaged everything in their path like a swarm of cartoon piranha. There were larger things in the depths, too big to fit in the tube, but pushed long, insect-thin claws up toward the retreating swarms, their soft, sucker-like tips screeching against the thick pli-glass and even larger shadows in the deep that made the ponderous, giant insect-crabs retreat with a speed they did not look capable of.

“They’re silicates,” Stinger explained when Jupiter continued to stare open-mouthed. “Like insects. Not carbon-based lifeforms like you or me.”

Jupiter didn’t turn away from the glass as she asked, “What’s that mean?”

“Mean’s they can survive in the liquid ammonia ocean.”

“That’s ammonia?”

Stinger nodded when his queen finally turned to look at him. “S’why the water is bluer than back on Earth; there’s another hydrogen molecule attached to the nitrogen.”

Jupiter frowned. “What-”

“Pardon, Your Majesty,” interrupted Stella, who was standing near the entrance of the Receiving Room with Hone, her badger-splice Skyjacker, and a cybernetic servitant bearing the standard communications additions on her head. “But a small yacht is requesting entry. It’s from Cerise.”

Jupiter turned to Stinger and Caine. “Kalique. This should be interesting.”

Stinger smirked before turning back to Stella. “Let them land, but make sure Hone frisks anyone coming off.”

Hone’s smile was a bit feral as he bowed and backed out of the room to follow the servitant and Stella up to the docks.

“You’ll spoil him,” Kerr murmured from her position nearly upside-down on the gold couch nearby.

“Like I do you?” Stinger stepped forward and flicked her knee off the arm of the couch so he could sit. Kerr simply resettled her feet in his lap.

This receiving room was a lot like the one on her ship, only bigger. Wedge-shaped, with her throne situated directly in front of the central aquarium, the room widened out and angled toward three large, double doors, each leading to a different section of the _alcazar_. The space was divided up by twelve pillars, these made of glass and boasting bioluminescent blue and gold glows within the structure itself to light the surrounding space. That color scheme was repeated with the gold couches and chairs, glass tables and blue cushions. The floor was a glassy, mirrored black and the ceiling was arched glass glowing pale blue.

The effect was both cavernous and claustrophobic and Jupiter wasn’t sure she would ever be entirely comfortable there.

As soon as Jupiter sat in her glass throne, Sky stepped forward, several sheaves in her arms. “Some of this can’t wait, Your Majesty,” she spoke, interrupting Jupiter’s obvious complaints before she could begin. “These are the schematics for the _alcazar_ ; you need to decide where you want your Skyjackers housed. The rest I can sort myself based upon their ranks but-”

Jupiter waved the explanation away and took the sheave, flicking her thumb over the screen as she took in the many levels of the base and the basic description of each. She noticed that Sky had put most of her Legionnaires in the three floors labeled ‘barracks’ just under the docks. The one directly after that being ‘security’ and the next two labeled with ‘mess,’ ‘rec,’ ‘training,’ ‘exercise,’ and ‘arms storage.’ The next floor was ‘guest rec’ with an informal dining room and the four floors after designated for ‘guests.’ After was this floor with the receiving room, a formal dining room, an actual ballroom, several offices and her ‘private lounge,’ whatever that was. Directly below that were her three private floors, and then several floors for her household where her mother, aunt and the others in her direct employ would stay, and personal servants above the floors for the base’s permanent servants. The last seven were label ‘machinery and maintenance.’ She flicked back to her private floors and noticed that the highest one consisted of several ‘rec’ rooms, a private dining room, sitting room, and a couple of offices. The middle one was entirely one bedroom with several partitions to designate the bathing area, clothing area, boudoir, lounge, library, and sitting area. The one below that was a garden, a pool, something not labeled but which looked suspiciously like Kalique’s Recode Jacuzzi room, and a ‘breakfast room.’

She controlled the roll of her eyes at the sheer opulence of it all and flicked back up to the ‘guest’ floor directly above this one. It consisted of nearly fifteen rooms which looked like suites with private baths all situated around a central lounge surrounding the aquarium. Perfect.

“Here,” she said, handing back the sheave with the screen on the last guest floor. “They can have the floor directly above us.”

Sky lifted her brows but didn’t comment further. “Yes, Your Majesty. These are the preliminary menus for meals the onsite cook can cobble together for tonight. You need only choose what looks palatable-”

“Give that to Nino, she knows what I like. Have her get together with Kylee so she can start preparing a menu for daily meals.”

“Yes, Majesty,” Sky shuffled her sheaves with aplomb before pulling another one. “This is the list of base personnel-” Jupiter waved it off to Stinger who took it and immediately started perusing the list. “This one is the list of servitants you need to acquire-” she straightened at Jupiter’s look. “I know your preferences, I’m willing to look first within the families of those you employ, to see if they’re willing to work to pay off any debt, and then in the orphaned contracts, but you need a minimum of twenty-eight household staff, preferably over fifty; of which you now have five. That number doesn’t include all the support staff you’ll need just to get your court up and running smoothly, let alone the staff you need to manage your family. I’m willing to do what I can and I understand your family is not like most entitled but I can’t-”

Jupiter lifted a hand, which silenced Sky mid-tirade. That was a useful trick. “I’m aware I’m lacking. That’s not the problem.”

“Then what is, Your Majesty?”

“I don’t know what I need,” Jupiter summed up as simply as possible. “Like you said, I and my family are unlike most entitled. I wasn’t raised in this life. I don’t know what constitutes a proper court or household staff. I just-”

“And that’s where I come in, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter looked up to see Stella return, followed by Hone. Behind them were four others. Jai Malcuthe was completely human but dressed like a peacock in layers of shimmering blue and green, his black hair brushed up and back to look something like a soft serve ice cream cone. Directly behind him were two diminutive splice women in subdued blue who were his personal servitants, or perhaps his wives? The sheave on him didn’t specify. Following them, obviously disheveled and cowed, was Rain Bow, her once vibrant hair hanging in greasy hunks down her back and her bright clothing traded in for the bland white of a servitant trainee.

At the sight of her, Jupiter turned to Caine. < _Take her to the private lounge on this floor and have her wait with Serio. Then come back to me._ >

< _Yes, Your Majesty._ > he bowed his head before turning and flicking a hand gesture at Serio that she didn’t catch, but that the other Skyjacker apparently understood because he walked right up behind Lady Bow, whispered something in her ear when she stiffened, and escorted her to the side door where Caine was waiting.

It wasn’t until the door closed behind them that Jupiter turned to address Kalique’s man. “Thank you for coming, Jai Malcuthe.”

“The pleasure is mine, I assure you, Your Majesty,” the man bowed with a flourish before rising again and then casting his gaze around with a disdainful look. “I can tell I have my work cut out for me. Well,” he clapped his hands together. “Shall we get started? First, your-” he waved at Kerr and the way she was sitting on the couch beside her throne. “Whatever she is, is completely inappropriately-” he went on to decry the way she sat, the clothing of everyone present, including the uniforms of Captain Tsing and Captain Wen who were so obviously Aegis and Legionnaire that Jupiter wondered if he was being deliberately obtuse or if Entitled actually forced their soldiers to dress in their house colors. It reminded her momentarily of Kalique’s glittery household, Titus’ gothic playboy in black leather look, and Balem’s gilded Italian macabre.

When Caine returned, she briefly entertained the thought of dressing him in her colors ( _when she figured out what her colors were_ ) before turning back to find that Jai Malcuthe had moved on to critiquing the glows in the glass pillars.

Jupiter raised her hand, secretly pleased when it silenced him mid-rant. “As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, we just arrived a few hours before you and have yet to get ourselves situated. So while I’m sure Stella and Sky will appreciate your pointers” – the stiff _looks_ she received from both said otherwise – “It’s going to have to wait until later. In the meantime, Sky will find you some suitable chambers.”

Sky gave a stiff smile before walking toward the man and indicating the door they came in. “If you please?”

Jai gave another exaggerated bow before flouncing out on his toes, the two women following meekly behind him. As he exited, Kiza and Jupiter’s mother came in the doors.

Kiza threw a thumb over her shoulder. “Who’s the pompous twat?”

Jupiter threw a hand over her mouth as Stinger barked, “Kiza!” but it was too late. Both Caine and Kerr were curling into themselves laughing, and behind her she could hear the quiet huffs of laughter that was Negi Moore. There was some raucous laughter from those of her Legionnaires that were present; their Captain stood stoic with a vague look on his face, as though he were desperately thinking of something else. Stella just sighed before turning to her queen with a brow lifted.

Jupiter shrugged unapologetically and stood. < _Caine?_ >

Caine immediately straightened, saw the direction she was walking in and barked, “Kerr, Negi,” and then jumped forward to open the door for her before guiding her to the third room down the hall; an impressive lounge decorated to all Jupiter’s own budding tastes.

Unlike the Receiving Room, which was meant to intimidate, the private lounge was made for comfort with wood floors, deep red paneled walls, and a cream colored arched ceiling hung with an impressive brass and crystal chandelier that portrayed the planet Jupiter and its surrounding moons in real time. The shortest of the four walls was again taken up by the central aquarium, while the opposite and longest wall was covered floor to ceiling with filled bookshelves; a floating stepladder tucked to one side. Here and there, decorating nearly every flat surface, were potted ferns, a rainbow of flowers, and a brass telescope that looked just like the one her family had bought for her.

Against one wall sat an ancient looking black wood desk; squat and wide it nearly spanned the width of the wall. Behind it stood a gilded, regal wingback chair taller than Caine. In front the desk were three smaller chairs in a similar pattern. In the middle of the room, situated around a low table made of the same black wood, were two long couches, and two squat chairs covered in overstuffed, patterned gold fabric with aqua pillows. Behind the couch nearest the bookshelf was a table that housed a liquor cabinet and a music player designed to look like a gramophone. Opposite, behind the other couch and in front of the aquarium, was an aqua colored fainting couch. On the floor in front of it was a thick, gold fleece rug that reminded Jupiter of that old stop-action movie and she wondered momentarily if there really was such a thing as a _golden fleece_.

While Jupiter had been taking in the room, Kerr had slithered onto the fainting couch in a position that looked unlikely but was probably comfortable, and Negi had slipped off to perch in the shadows on the stepladder. The only other occupants were Serio who was sitting comfortably in one of the chairs around the table, and Lady Rain Bow, who’d stood with a jerk as soon as the door opened.

Jupiter went to the nearest couch, patting the cushion beside her so that Caine would sit and not tower over her. “Kalique told me that you were scheduled to be retrained and then sold.”

Instead of launching into an apologetic tirade like Jupiter half expected, the parrot-splice stood quite, eyes lowered and hands clasped before her. She stood straight, but her shoulders were stiff and she was biting her lip.

It had taken a while for Jupiter to understand how being retrained and sold was a punishment. Retraining cost. On top of Rain Bow’s splice contract of ninety-five hundred Cs, plus her original training debt of thirty-two thousand Cs, she already had a debt of nearly forty-two thousand credits. She’d been educated in fashion, art and business and trained as a curator which, according to Stella, was who basically ordered and bought all the furniture, art, jewelry, and splices for an Entitled’s household. It would have been a well-paying job, only Kalique had been using her as a messenger for the last fourteen years. According to her contract, Rain Bow still had more than half her original debt to pay off. And Kalique had scheduled her for retraining as a body masseuse; something that didn’t take long but was fairly expensive. It would have added years to her already heavy contract and, with the double black marks of being re-trained and sold, would have made it nearly impossible for her to get out from under it.

“What do you want to do, Lady Bow?”

“What?” Rain stared for a moment, before looking down again. “I don’t understand the question, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter snorted. “Do you want to be trained as a masseuse, like Kalique had scheduled for you? Would you like to work as a curator like you’ve already been trained? Or would you like to clean toilets? What do you want to do, Lady Bow?”

Rain gaped for a long moment, only closing her mouth when Caine huffed. Her eyes darted to him and then back to Jupiter before she started, “I-I would… like to be a curator, Your Majesty, as I originally trained if… if it would not offend- if it’s at all possible to be sold to someone looking for one.”

Jupiter hummed before turning her head and flicking the foot hung over the back of the couch. “Could you fetch Sky for me?”

Kerr slumped off the couch and darted out the door without a word.

She smirked at the Skyjacker before turning to Caine. “I bet there’s soda in that liquor bar.”

“No bet,” Caine stood and walked around the couch to find out. “I think George may have a thing for making you happy.”

Jupiter hummed happily when he brought back a tall glass with dark, bubbling liquid. “Remind me to thank him and Tweak for doing such a good job with the place.”

She was halfway done with her drink when Kerr slunk back into the room, followed by the eagle-splice who looked only mildly interested in the proceedings. “You called for me, Your Majesty?”

“That sheave with the list of servitants you want me to acquire; is a curator among them?”

Sky flipped to the appropriate sheave, “I believe so, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter lifted a hand toward Rain, who was glancing back and forth between them with a growing look of disbelief. “Here ya go, then.”

Sky hummed, “Six down, only forty-four more to go.”

“I don’t understand,” Rain started when it was obvious that they were waiting for her to speak. “Your Majesty wants to hire me?”

“Only if you want to work for me,” Jupiter shrugged. “I’m not about to force you into anything, but the job is yours if you want it, with a few stipulations.”

“Stipulations,” she repeated warily.

“Minor addendums to Her Majesty’s standard contract;” Sky explained. “If you agree, Her Majesty is willing to pay the remainder of your pre-debt with a minor clause about sponsoring you for citizenship should you wish it.”

Rain blinked and stared at Jupiter before turning back to Sky and asking, “Did _you_ take her offer?”

“No,” Sky folded her hands over her sheaves with a soft smile. “But that’s because I have less than three rated-years left on my debt. But I will be taking Her Majesty up on her offer for sponsorship when the time comes.”

Jupiter watched the interplay silently before asking Caine, < _Rated-years?_ >

< _The time it would take to repay pre-debt while making job-appropriate wage._ >

Jupiter tuned back into the conversation just in time for Rain to blurt, “But you’re the one that got me punished!”

Caine’s growl then was fierce as it had been earlier on the _Isurus_ , and it caused everyone in the room to flinch except Jupiter. She laid a restraining hand on his arm before sighing. “Your actions got you punished. But let me be clear. This is not something I’m forcing on you, Lady Bow. I’m merely giving you a choice.”

“But why?”

Her confusion over such a simple kindness was so obvious that Jupiter felt herself getting angry on behalf of every splice that didn’t understand the basic human rights she’d grown up thinking were universal only to find out that the universe though those rights quaint, if not morally backwards. She knew the difference between ignoring the cleaning lady like they were part of the furniture, and actually thinking the cleaning lady beneath you and undeserving of the scorn you heaped upon them because they had the audacity to clean in your presence. It _infuriated_ her. “Because _I can_.”

Rain stared, her brows furrowed for a long minute before her frown turned questioning. “And you’re willing to have me in your court?”

“The question isn’t if _I’m_ willing, Lady Bow. I’d always rather have friends than enemies;” Jupiter explained. “The question is whether or not you want to work for me.”

Her frown turned into a slight smile. “And you will trust me to do you proud?”

“Trust is earned, don’t you think?”

Rain nodded, her smile growing. Then she stood and gave a formal bow from the waist. “It would be my honor to serve Queen Jupiter Jones, Second Prime of House Abrasax, in any capacity Your Majesty may have for me.”

“Welcome to my court, Rain Bow,” Jupiter intoned, and then frowned. “But I’m not the Second Prime, I’m Third behind Kalique and Titus.”

Rain raised her brows. “I admit my understanding is limited to the sphere of household acquisition, but did you or did you not participate in a marriage ceremony with the younger Abrasax Prime?”

“I did,” Jupiter allowed, lifting a hand toward Caine when he stood in renewed anger. “But the binding ring wasn’t completed.”

“On _your_ finger, Majesty.” Rain specified.

Caine cursed, his wings extending to touch the walls of her library in a visual representation of his temper flaring. Jupiter turned, her eyes widening as the implications began to sink in. She waved away Sky and Rain. “Jake will make up your contract, Rain. Dinner tonight, we’ll start tomorrow. Sky, please send Stinger in if he’s out there, thank you. Serio, Negi, Kerr, I’ll see you at dinner.”

Rain followed the Skyjackers out of the room on Sky’s heels, fully aware that she’d dropped a proverbial bomb on her new queen. Jupiter could only be glad of her consideration. “Stinger said the marriage was permanently binding, that the only way out is through death or if both parties agree to an Annulment before consummation. It was never consummated so that’s good, right?”

Caine stopped and turned to his queen, something in her voice alerting him to the fact that she was very close to panic. He mantled his wings and stepped forward, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look at him.

“You are not his wife,” he stated.

Jupiter shook her head but didn’t back away from him. “Isn’t that what she was saying? His ring was completed so some part of the marriage went through? Isn’t that what it means?”

“Yes, but _yours_ didn’t. He is your husband, but you are not his wife.”

The inconsistency made Jupiter still. She looked up at him. “I don’t understand.”

“Perhaps I can help?” Stinger stood in the entrance, Jake Static beside him as he slid the door closed behind him. “I was just informed.”

Jupiter swung toward him, but still didn’t pull away from Caine. “What does that mean, Stinger? How can he be my husband but I not be his wife?”

Jake lifted a hand. “Permanent Bindings are just that, permanent. For either party. The vows taken mean that one enters into the contract of their own free will, giving over everything of themselves without reservation or expectation.”

Behind her, Caine growled. Jupiter wrapped her fingers around his wrist, grounding herself as she tried to understand. “Without expectation… of reciprocating vows?”

“Yes,” Jake inclined his head. “And unless you release him via Annulment, he is bound to you for the rest of either of your natural lives.”

“Which means he has a claim upon you unless you release him,” Caine muttered.

“Technically, it means she has a claim upon him,” Jake explained. “Not the other way around.”

“He’s my husband but I’m not his wife,” Jupiter repeated.

“In effect,” Jake clarified, “He is your legally bound concubinus until you reciprocate the vows or absolve him of his.”

Caine growled again, low and long in his chest.

< _I need you to control yourself right now._ > Jupiter glanced into Caine’s startled eyes, his growl abruptly swallowed. < _I need to understand what this means. **All** that it means. Please._ >

Caine grit his teeth, but met her yes and nodded, visibly controlling his urge to rend the Abrasax heir limb from limb.

< _Thank you,_ > Jupiter sent, before turning back to Stinger and Jake. “Please explain, _exactly_ , what this means for me; personally, legally, socially. I need to understand.”

So Jake explained in great detail what it meant for both parties when only one was committed into a permanent binding to the other.

* * *

That Titus Abrasax was permanently bound to Jupiter had very little impact upon her public life. She was not obligated to act a certain way toward him in public, nor adhere to any of the societal requirements that were expected of permanent spouses. Titus, on the other hand, as her bound concubinus, the male version of concubine, _was_ required to act a certain way while in public. In fact, if he did something that she didn’t approve of, like say flaunt a mistress or behave in any manner that reflected badly upon her or her House, she could levee some very hefty fines against him, up to and including curbing his spending. In effect, everything he owned was now technically listed among her assets and held In Trust, although she wasn’t entitled to use them unless he gave her access or until he passed. He was neither allowed to sell nor buy anything beyond basic necessities without her approval as she was legally his guardian in all but name. Of course, the Entitled had a very different idea of what constituted ‘basic.’ Her claim even superseded his own Will and the rights of any progeny he may have outside of their marriage. The only way he could be released from his vows was if they both signed an annulment before the marriage was consummated.

Politically, the fact that Titus was permanently married to Jupiter removed him from the position as Prime of the House of Abrasax and elevated Jupiter from Third to Second under Kalique. It was a move that had repercussions for both Titus and Jupiter. Repercussions that wouldn’t make themselves fully known for a long while. For although on paper the move only put her one step closer to power, in reality, it put her exponentially closer to a great deal of power and influence as well as a great deal of danger.

Within the Nakshatra, the ruling conglomerate of Entitled; the Abrasax Dynasty were second only to the Imperial House deCaelo in power and, some argued, equal in influence, for although the Sargon, the most powerful fighting force in the gyre, were bred to be loyal to the Imperium, the Abrasax controlled the Regen-X trade. And like Kalique told Jupiter; ‘ _Time is the single most precious commodity in the universe._ ’ This move, intentional or not, elevated her from ‘family curiosity’ to an active player in the politics of the Nakshatra with the potential to be one of the most powerful beings in the known universe.

According to Stinger’s sources (“ _Just say Kiza, Stinger._ ”) there were already rumors that the marriage between her and Titus, which had seemed like the actions of a naïve ingénue being manipulated by her previous incarnation’s progeny, had actually been a very decisive coup on the part of Jupiter accomplished with the cunning of Seraphi. She was actively being praised for it in some circles. And now, she understood Kalique’s emphases on being supported for this role; Jupiter was a contender for Kalique’s position.

Jupiter sent Jake to finish the contract with Rain Bow and then asked Stinger to make sure everyone was settled while she had Caine escort her to her rooms. Moving as though in a fog, Jupiter didn’t realize that Caine had ordered a light meal for her until he stood in front of her holding out a glass filled with what looked like her favorite soda.

“You have to eat something, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter blinked and looked up at him, surprised to find herself sitting on the edge of a very big bed. She glanced around, taking in her lavish chambers. The entire floor was one giant room, hundreds of square feet, partitioned off by curtains, couches, counters, folding screens and shelves filled with books, potted plants and various knickknacks. The bed she sat on was made of dark wood, covered in thick gold fabric, and easily wide enough the sleep twelve. It was the kind of bed dynasties were made in. Situated on a raised platform, the sleeping area stepped down to a cozy boudoir with a comfortable low chair in front of a vanity complete with large round mirror. She had no doubt that the drawers were full of her favorite hair accessories, make-up and that the chests and the tall dresser just to the side was full of all the jewelry she’d ever admired on Earth.

Beyond the boudoir was a dressing area fit for a fashion show. In the opposite direction was a bathing room with a luxurious bath and a sinful looking shower. Around the curve of the central aquarium she could see a library, a sitting room, and a Bond villain-esque conversation pit complete with shag carpet surrounding an actual fire pit filled with what looked like a pile of broken glass burning a cheerful blue.

She itched to explore the rest of the floor but was sidetracked when Caine knelt in front of her, the glass he’d been holding nowhere in sight and a concerned expression on his face.

“Majesty?”

She blinked at him again, surprised by the careful emptiness in his face. “Yes, Caine?”

Caine heaved a sigh and dropped his head to her knees like just hearing her respond was a huge relief and Jupiter realized that she must have been worrying him. She lifted a hand to cup the back of his neck and was slightly worried at how her hand shook. Caine bent over her legs, burying his face in her lap and wrapping his arms around her hips. Jupiter carded her fingers through his hair, both reassured and reassuring. It was a full minute before she felt a shift in the very air around her; heavier, thicker. She felt her breathing deepen just as Caine’s nuzzling turned into a caress.

She opened her legs, allowing Caine to settle between them with a low sound. His arms tightened about her, his nose found the crease between her hip and thigh. When her fingers moved from his neck to start on his shoulders and down his back as far as she could reach, Caine’s low rumble turned into a moan before he pulled back in a light laugh.

“Caine, I want-”

“No,” he interrupted. “You need to eat, Majesty.”

“Shouldn’t that be my decision?” Jupiter retorted, recalling all those times he’d pulled back or stopped after she’d first refused him in her apartment. He’d been very careful to give her the intimacy they both wanted without pushing past that first boundary of no sex while her mother could interrupt them.

Caine shook his head in rueful amusement, a guarded look in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he replied automatically, giving the words no thought whatsoever as they passed his lips. “But I’m going to be difficult about this. Autocratic even. When you’re not their Queen, you’re mine and I’ll take care of you, protect you, especially from your own bad habits.”

A smile quirked one corner of her mouth as she asked, “Why? Because I’m pack?”

“Yes!” he felt everything bubble up. “But because I’m jealous of every moment anyone spends with you that takes you away from me. I’m jealous of every smile you give them, every touch, every word. And I must control my every reaction. I don’t _like_ feeling like this,” he bit out. “I’m having a hard time with my instincts as it is.”

She tilted her head at him, charmed that he wasn’t bothering to hide his more animal side from her. “Are you going to bite me, Caine?”

“Don’t tempt me, Majesty,” he growled.

She leaned forward, running her nose along his jaw until she could whisper into his ear, “No one would dare come in here without permission.”

He groaned, leaning into her.

“And my mother is at least three doors, two rooms, and a whole floor between us-”

“Peace,” he interrupted again.

“-with absolutely no chance of _parentis coitus interruptus_.” There was a beat of silence in which Caine didn’t move, didn’t even _breathe_ and Jupiter sighed. “Am I over-complicating this? You already know what I want, but what do you want?”

 _You_. The word jumped from Caine’s mind before he could stop it. He shook his head. It was not that simple; it would _never_ be that simple. She was Entitled. And he was… not even fully human. And though Entitled could theoretically do whatever they like without the literal repercussions felt in the other castes, there were still things frowned upon in Jupiter’s new society, and it would be irresponsible of him to allow her to make those kinds of mistakes for his own selfish desires. Taking a lover that was considered less than human, more as an accessory and flawed to boot, was one of those things.

Caine opened his mouth to speak, but Jupiter pressed her finger to his lips, shushing him. “You don’t have to say anything,” she whispered. “I know what you’re thinking, what you’re trying to protect me from and I don’t care about _them_. I told you, I’m going to be something completely different. Something they’ve never seen; and that includes you.”

She surprised him once again, seeming to know him far too well.

They came together slowly, foreheads touching. There was a terrible roaring in Caine’s ears and he wondered what it was before realizing it was his heartbeat. It was hammering so hard and so fast, Caine hadn’t recognized it as his own. And with every beat, Caine felt himself giving up the fight. He was surrendering; he was letting her win because with her, he was the man he wanted to be, and because her winning didn’t feel like him losing. So why the unbearable hammering in his head?

“It’s called being nervous,” Jupiter murmured. Had he said that out loud? She took his hand and raised it to her own neck, pressing his fingers against her pulse, letting him feel that it was just as fast and hard as his own.

Without warning Caine put his mouth over Jupiter’s. His tongue parted her lips with deep, slow strokes that brought a low sound from the back of her throat. Her body melted against his with hungry ease and breathtaking thoroughness.

“Caine…” she moaned.

Caine hummed in his throat as the feel of Jupiter sliding against him overwhelmed all his other senses. He gathered Jupiter’s body against his with a slow, sensual care that mocked their previous tension. Her arms snaked around his neck, body straining against him. Her fingers caught on his shirt and scraped against the skin of his neck, but he ignored it. His hands slid over her body, one hand caressing her hip, the other sliding up her spine to tangle in her hair and cup the back of her head. Caine broke from her lips to nip and kiss along her jaw and across her cheek in an effort to get control of himself.

His fingertips traced her spine with delicate care, sending showers of sensation through her. Caine felt Jupiter shiver and laughed softly. He brought his other hand up from her hip and in close under the lapel of her jacket.

The back of his hand brushed lightly over her breast each time she breathed.

Jupiter’s breath caught as Caine’s knuckle gently circled the tip of her breast. Strands of pleasure spread through her, bringing a subtle tension to her whole body. And then his mouth was over hers again and all she could feel was him, branding her skin with his heat. She needed more, pulling him closer still, bracing herself on one leg so that she could slide the other around him. She felt him shift his stance to aid her move, his muscles tensing beneath her hands and-

“ _Pardon the interruption, Your Majesty. But there’s an important communiqué for you_.”

Caine lifted his head with a growl at the interruption. When the fog of passion cleared enough for him to discern its meaning, his eyes fell back on Jupiter to see her lips swollen and chest heaving as she blinked rapidly in an effort to clear the daze. He raised one brow in question, eyes unable to mask his trepidation, his wonderment as to what her reaction would be now that the lustful haze had been broken.

“This isn’t over, Jupiter.” It came out more a question than he would have liked.

“Not by a long shot,” She answered with a smile. Jupiter pressed a quick and tender kiss to his lips before turning and lifting her head. “ _Alcazar_ , couple of things. First, do you have a name you prefer?”

“ _No, Your Majesty._ ”

“Alright. Then I’m calling you Cal.”

“ _Very good, Your Majesty._ ”

“Okay. Second, do you have such a thing as privacy protocols?” Jupiter felt Caine huff a laugh against her breastbone.

“ _Inasmuch as I am required to do any and all things within my capability to serve and protect Your Majesty._ ”

“Good?” She met Caine’s eye for confirmation before lifting her head again. “Then I require a level of privacy and lack of interruption while in the middle of-of…uh-”

“Coitus,” Caine supplied, humming in approval.

Jupiter blushed at the word and Caine gave a low hum as he followed the flush down her neck, unbuttoning her shirt as he went. “Yes.”

“ _Very good, Your Majesty._ ”

“Also, when I am alone, with my family or Skyjackers I would prefer you call me Lady Jupe.”

“ _Very good, Lady Jupe._ ”

“Now, who’s the communiqué from?”

“ _From Earth, Lady Jupe. Your cousin Vladimir Bolotnikov is trying to reach you._ ”

Jupiter cursed and stood, unintentionally shoving Caine off balance. He flailed and landed on his backside, wings automatically opening in an instinctive attempt to regain his balance. They stared at each other in surprise before Caine huffed a laugh and Jupiter dissolved into giggles and collapsed onto his lap.

But now, as she leaned against him, letting him support all her weight, Caine felt a peculiar melting sensation in the area of his heart. Oh, she felt good in his arms. His entire body felt like one big throb from the contact; the incredible softness of her skin, the heat that practically glowed from her. He wanted to wrap her in a cocoon of physical delight that would leave her completely pliable to his touch.

Forgetting everything else, his arms tightened and he pulled her even closer, fitting her soft curves to all the hard angles of his body, tilting her so that her pelvis cradled the hard bulge of his erection. She made another little sound, and he kissed her until her breath was no longer her own, until it didn’t matter if she breathed or not.

She moaned, her head falling weakly back. He took the opportunity offered, his hot mouth trailing down her throat to close on the exquisitely sensitive juncture between neck and shoulder, scraping the tendon with his teeth, sucking her skin. He felt her body jolt and her knees give out, but it didn’t matter because he had her safe in his grasp. His hands moved over her with slow, maddening purpose, stroking her breasts, unzipping, unsnapping and disposing of her clothing until she was bare to the waist and unable to go further because there wasn’t a breath of space between their hips. But at last he could touch naked flesh, and he rubbed her nipples into hard aching points, then tilted her back over his arm and bent his head to suck them. He wasn’t gentle, but he didn’t have to be. She clasped her hands around his head and held him there, gasping out cries of pleasure as the pressure of his mouth catapulted her to an even higher level of sensation.

When she jerked at his shirt without trying to undo it, desperate to feel his skin, he raised his head long enough to help her, but used only one hand because he didn’t release her. They both fought the garment, and a couple of closures fell to the rug; then it was off, hanging on one wing and both arms were around her again, her breasts crushed against his chest.

“I thought they were lying,” she gasped.

“Who?” he asked against her throat, barely aware of the conversation.

“Other girls. About this.”

“This?” He found that sensitive place on her neck again, and held it with his teeth.

“The way this feels. It’s different. With you.”

“How does it feel?” He whispered, finally conscious of what she was saying and beginning to feel wary of where it might be headed.

This was desire. This heat and need, the deep pull of emptiness, the tension and lassitude and sharp tingles. “I… throb.” She could barely get the words out through the whine of need.

A rough sound burst out of his throat and a shudder ran through him. He literally felt his erection pulse against her. “I’ll make it stop,” he promised, his tone so low and rough the words were barely intelligible. He stood, lifting her with him until he could slide his hands down her legs, tugging her jeans and panties as he went until the fabric was bunched over her boots. Then he straightened, running his hands back up bare skin until he was cupping her bottom for a moment, just a moment; then he moved them down and around, his fingers delving into her closed cleft and finding her opening.

Jupiter gasped, the sound strangling in her throat as her whole body seemed to seize, waiting, frozen in anticipation. Then he pushed two fingers up into her and all her nerve endings rioted, arching her against him in a mindless search for more. Her hips began to move, surging like the tide. “More,” she managed to say, begging, whimpering the word. “ _More_.”

She couldn’t seem to do anything except cling to him as he pulled her boots off and stripped her jeans and panties down, then fought his way out of his clothing, skimming his pants down to bunch over his own boots. Mostly naked, holding her to him, he stumbled back to sit on the bed and pull her over him, arranging her legs so that she straddled his lap. He grasped her hips and guided her into position.

Abruptly, time slowed. She gripped his shoulders as his penis probed between her legs, not inside her but nudging, as if enticing her to open and admit him. Her hand fisted on his shoulder. “Protection?”

Her breath came in quick little gasps; his bellowed out of his lungs. His jaw was set, his neck corded with strain, and yet he remained still as a fleeting look of confusion passed over his face before his gaze dropped to where they were nearly connected. He clenched his jaw and inhaled through his nose, a long breath pulled in against the skin of her throat.

“Don’t need it,” he gritted out.

She scoffed then gasped, “I’ve heard that before.”

“I’ve been inoculated against anything your world may contain so I can’t get anything you might be carrying,” he flashed a quick grin at her squawk. “And even if I could get you pregnant, you’re not ovulating right now.”

“Oh,” she sighed, blinking at the revelation that _he could smell ovulation_ , promised herself she’d come back to the rest of it when she could think, and then looked down at his naked length for the first time. Jupiter wasn’t sure what she expected, but Caine looked like a perfectly normal male. He was a bit longer than her hand, slightly more tapered at the head than she was expecting with a slight curve upwards. Her fingers just circled him at the tip and through the middle, but couldn’t around the thick base, where an intriguing fleshy bulge made her shiver with want.

He let her look and touch, only whining in the back of his throat when she shivered, the movement sending a fresh wave of _want need_ at him with the pheromones coming off her heated skin. He kept his hands on her hips even when she slid forward against him, her arms circling his shoulders, and let her set the pace. She moved her hips back and forth in a subtle motion, caressing herself with his hard length, lifting and moving and- _ah_. He slipped into her, just a little, but enough to make him clench his teeth on another rough sound. His fingers bit into her buttocks, then relaxed as his entire focus narrowed to one. Single. Point.

Entranced, the expression in his eyes distant as he concentrated on the sensation of slick heat and tightness, he watched as Jupiter took her time; the strain of holding herself in check showed in the trembling of her arms and the sweat beading on her brow. He gasped while she took him with shallow thrusts, each one pushing just a bit further than the last. Caine looked down and moaned at the sight of himself sliding in and out, catching the faint sheen of moisture from her coating his member in the dim light. It was mesmerizing and also a bit astonishing. He never thought he’d be allowed this.

Finally her hips settled in his lap, and the sensation of filling so completely and being fulfilled in return made Caine shiver. He sucked in a gasping breath, as if he’d been holding it the entire time, and looked at Jupiter as if she was his whole world, because in this moment, she was.

“Two seconds?” she asked in a raspy voice, the cheeky glint evident in her smile.

Caine nodded, reaching up to push a few sweaty curls away from her face. “Now set the sheets on fire,” he whispered back, shifting so his hips were on the edge of the mattress, stretching out his legs so she could take him at a deeper angle.

The change in angle had Jupiter gasping and her back arching, her fingers scrabbling on his shoulders for an anchor. She rose and fell, her eyes closing, savoring the slow impalement, the decadent drag of flesh. While she explored the length and breadth of him intimately inside her, Caine concentrated on his breaths, on the way hers caught, on the pressure of his fingers against her skin, on the way hers clenched on his shoulders. He wasn’t aware of making any sounds, of the growing desperation in his grip, he was completely focused on the increasing heat of her body, the way her pulse sped and heaved and the tension in her muscles that wound tighter and tighter. When she leaned forward and kissed him, the shift of her over him caused his nerve endings to nearly explode. The world dimmed around him and without much thought beyond relieving the tension, he reached down, keeping one hand planted on her hip while the other swept in toward her sex.

“Come for me, Jupiter,” he begged. “Please, my queen.”

He’d no sooner finished whispering the words against her ear than his thumb worked across her clitoris in tight, hard circles that had her jerking. He heard her shriek, felt her hips frantically surge against his as wave after wave of ecstasy rushed over her, intensified by the hand between her legs. Caine stroked in counterpoint to her thrusts as she tossed her head and gripped his shoulders so hard he knew there would be bruises.

It felt like forever before the raw, searing pleasure began to fade, leaving Jupiter limp and practically boneless with satisfaction in Caine’s lap. White spots spun behind her eyes as she struggled to find an even breath. She blinked and slowly focused on Caine, her body humming with pleasure. He was still inside, hard and hot and practically pulsing with need. His fingers were curled tightly in the sheets and there was no mistaking the tremors racking through him as he fought to remain motionless for her.

Somehow she found the energy to lift an arm and drape it around his shoulders, fingers toying with the damp hair at his nape and she pulled herself flush against him. She murmured against his trembling lips, “Come for your queen, Caine.”

Caine groaned harshly and then abruptly they were on the floor again and his hips surged against hers as he pounded into her from above. Jupiter cried out in surprise as throbbing desire flooded her again. She clung to his shoulders and planted her feet on the ground as her hips rose to meet every demanding thrust he gave. He pressed hot, open mouthed kisses and broken moans to her throat, nipped roughly at her shoulder as her nails pressed into his skin hard enough to leave marks. She licked and sucked at the sweat on his throat and luxuriated in getting what she wanted from him; to have him let go and give in to their bodies’ demands, to feel him thrusting inside her so desperately. Caine used his entire body in the movement; the tips of his boots dug into the flooring, his hands anchored Jupiter’s shoulders to him, while his wings beat against the air until she could feel him everywhere.

The added friction had her slipping more swiftly into orgasm than before. He felt the sucking ripples of her climax around him and he stiffened and cried out harshly, a guttural sound that had her name tangled up in it as the internal clasping of her muscles pulled him into his own orgasm, making him want to push and _push_ and burying himself inside her in a way he never had before. The hard pulse of his length inside tossed Jupiter into yet another orgasm that left her shivering uncontrollably beneath him. Caine continued to rock and grind himself in her for a full minute, stifling his cries against her shoulder.

They both panted raggedly in the aftermath as he lay heavily on her, one arm braced to keep his full weight from crushing her into the rug. The cool air from his gently flapping wings fanned against his back, while perspiration glued their fronts together and slick wet stuck his hips to her inner thighs. She nuzzled her face against his throat and he pressed a kiss to her temple before finding the warm, fragrant pulse of her heart behind her ear with his nose and burrowing himself there.

For a moment, he remained lying that way, his heart hammering against her chest as his breath came in hot puffs on her neck. Jupiter hummed pleasurably, enjoying the languid contentment radiating through her muscles. Finally, Caine rolled to the side, mantling his wings and grunting as if even that action was too much too soon. Jupiter followed, curling into his chest. His fingers were gentle as they stroked down her cheek, tenderly brushing sweaty hair behind her ear.

“Well, that was definitely worth the wait,” she managed to say weakly after their hearts slowed. “But we’ve got to stop doing this when other people are trying to talk to me.”

Caine could hear her amusement and felt a curl of his own rise up to match. “I’ll make a note of it.” His voice sounded hoarse, as if he could barely speak.

She smoothed her hand down his back, around his wings and over the coolness of his buttocks. “Thank you. For not being upset about waiting, I mean,” she hastily added when his brows rose.

He gave the barest of head shakes and smiled at her, his eyes heavy-lidded, his blond hair dark with sweat. “You say some of the strangest things, Majesty.”

Jupiter’s eyes narrowed as she sat up, irritation chasing away the previous sated feeling. “What’s so strange about that? You _were_ being patient, and I appreciate that it couldn’t have been easy, after all.”

“You’d be surprised how easy things are when it involves someone you love.”

Her fingers paused while reaching for a conveniently placed kimono and her heart skipped a couple of beats. Jupiter looked down at him, eyes scanning his features for any indication that what he’d just said could be taken another, more innocent way. They hadn’t talked of ‘love.’ They’d talked of pack and belonging, devotion and even how much they wanted each other. She’d even used the word to describe him to _her mother_ , but they’d never broached the topic of love before now and Jupiter couldn’t help the sudden lurching feeling of hope in the pit of her stomach. His eyes were heavy lidded, but open and meeting her gaze steadily. There wasn’t a trace of deception there, nor the careful emptiness when he expected rejection. What she saw was a softer look than she’d ever witnessed from him before, as well as a little uncertainty. He wasn’t bothering to hide himself from her, allowing her to plainly see _him_.

And from what Jupiter could see, Caine loved her quite a bit. Before she could reply in kind, Caine sat up and began pulling his pants back up his legs. He hadn’t even taken off his boots. She smiled softly before remembering what had set them off. Gesturing Caine for the food, she stood and reached for a kimono wrap in pale gold silk and edged with black lace. Pulling it on she sat on the couch across from the bed and addressed the _alcazar_.

“Cal, how has Vlad tried to get in touch with me?”

“ _Vladamir Bolotnikov has attempted to call your personal cell phone number a total of six times and left three voice messages for you. While in transit, the shipboard entity of_ Isurus _was not aware of the forwarded FTL information packet. I have downloaded it now that you are in residence here. Shall I play them back for you, Lady Jupe?_ ”

“Oh Jesus,” Jupiter muttered, leaning her elbow onto the arm of the couch. She watched as Caine rifled through a trunk before pulling on a clean, comfortable looking shirt, snapping the shoulders over his wings, and then turned to retrieve the platter of food and drink before heading her way. “Might as well.”

“ _Jupiter? Hey Jupe, it’s your cousin Vladie? Hey, I think I’m in a bit of trouble and I need your help. Could you call me back quick?_ ”

“ _Hey, Jupiter. It’s Vladie again. Uh,_ ” He cleared his throat and Jupiter wondered at the roughness of his voice. “ _Hey, I’m, uh… I’m in trouble here. I need your help. These guys, uh… Just- just call me back soonish, kay?_ ”

When the last message came through, even Caine lifted his brows at the hoarseness of Vlad’s voice. “ _Jupiter, I owe these guys some serious money and they’re going to hurt me worse unless I can pay them back. Please, Jupe, your cousin Vladie needs you right now. Don’t let me down._ ”

When the message finished, Jupiter just stared at Caine, a stunned expression on her face. “Well, shit.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, we've caught up to where I'm editing and writing as I go so chapters will be coming much slower now. Just know that comments keep me going and thank you so much for reading!


	14. Event Horizon: Part VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to come together, Vladie gets a talking to, the group gets a make-over and Jupiter realizes something.

The hour was late when Jupiter and Caine, both freshly showered and dressed, joined the rest of her burgeoning family and court for dinner. All the skyjackers and their families were present with the exception of Hone Stripes and Perrin Grey; Jupiter had sent them along with Tweak and a cadre of Shadows on a special retrieval mission a few hours ago and she expected them back any minute.

The dinner was comprised of a stunning array of dishes, both familiar and very, very unfamiliar to Jupiter, all made under the supervision of their very own Kylee Zhao as the new Head Chef in Jupiter’s household. And if this was an indication of what she could do in just a few hours, Jupiter couldn’t wait to see what she would accomplish with her own kitchen and staff after a few weeks.

It was an easy working dinner, with conversation flowing down and around the long, curved table and people constantly getting up and moving chairs to discuss something. Jupiter was especially pleased to see Rain Bow and Maggie Doone working closely with Sky and Stella.

Maggie, as her new seamstress would be taking on the task of dressing and coordinating Jupiter’s Household, as such she worked very closely under Sky, her Majordomo, trying to get a sense of Jupiter’s style and preferences. She already had several rough sketches and mock-ups of uniforms and dresses for her household, her security, her family and her personal wardrobe. Maggie kept checking with Jupiter’ mother, Aleska about certain styles of old Russian Tsars and was incorporating some of those fashion choices into the sketches to give Jupiter’s new style an Earth old-world, Russian royalty feel to everything. Which was something new and exciting to everyone else present, apparently, and, according to Maggie, would _take_ _the_ _gyre by storm_. With Jupiter’s approval, Maggie was running with the bee theme that the Keeper’s had begun, using black and gold as her main colors, but subsidizing them with rich crimson and greens, aquamarine, and something she called aubergine but which looked like eggplant purple to Jupiter. She even had ideas for uniforms already, with black and gold and honeycomb designs. Jupiter couldn’t wait to see them.

Sky and Stella had already equipped Rain with everything she would need to purchase, buy, barter and interview for staff, fabric, equipment and anything Jupiter might need to set up her Court by the end of next week. She was given a monthly budget of credits she needed to stay under which was still more money than Jupiter had ever seen at one time, a list of approved items for the household, positions to fill, fabrics to acquire, and reputable contacts. It was an intimidating job and Jupiter wasn’t surprised to find Rain checking with the two Heads as well as with Jake to make sure of any fine points or details. She already had a list of potential hires/purchases that she would be interviewing/getting approval for by the end of the day. “Acquiring for the smaller jobs will be easy to hire and fill. Those just require good references, a thorough background check by Stinger and approval by the various Heads they’ll be working under,” Rain explained. “It’s the specific jobs that you’re going to want to be involved with as they’ll likely be working closely with you at some point in the future. I’ll put together a list for those, get Stinger to vet them, and then we’ll go from there.”

Jupiter nodded her approval, noticing how such a small act bolstered Rain’s confidence that she nearly preened as she walked away.

When Caine shot her an amused look, she lifted a brow at him. Despite all thoughts to the contrary, delegating to the people who could do the job much better than Jupiter was a skill that came very easy to her. It was everything else that was turning out to be difficult. Which reminded her; she tilted her head at Caine, a gesture he understood if his head shake in the negative was any indication. She sighed and turned back to the conversation in front of her; Sky and Stinger discussing the extraneous details of moving an employee from one place to another. When they began discussing permissions and ship manifests, Jupiter clued in.

“Are you discussing Aranea Strand?”

Both Sky and Stinger froze, the latter with a sheepish expression and the former with a deer in the headlights stare. Caine’s guffaw of laughter followed by Stinger’s glare let Jupiter know that she wasn’t _supposed_ to clue in.

She smirked, “Stinger…”

He cleared his throat. “Yes, Majesty?”

“Haven’t we talked about this?”

Stinger looked mulish. “I wasn’t going to make any decisions _for_ you, Your Majesty. Just…”

“Anticipating my needs?”

He nodded.

The rest of the room had fallen silent, feeling the subtle thrum of tension in the air as Jupiter stared at him until he nearly started to squirm in his seat. She thought about it; he hadn’t made any decisions in her name, just anticipated the difficulties of moving Aranea Strand from her cruiser into her household. If he had sensed the tension on the ship earlier, like she had, then he was looking for a way to fill a need in her own household while making an untenable situation on board her cruiser easier. That was a little unlike him, actually, though Jupiter couldn’t be sure because she’d only seen him with the Skyjackers for less than a day. This might be his standard operating procedure. In which case she approved and should probably encourage that kind of independent thought instead of punishing it.

She gave a slow nod. “Good.”

Stinger deflated before puffing up. “Yeah?”

“Yes,” Jupiter smiled at him. “If Aranea Strand wants to, and meets with your approval, I’d like her moved into my personal household. Jake can give her my standard contract and we can go from there.” She looked at Sky, “Take care of the details?”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Sky bowed her head, a wide smile on her lips as she eyed a still nervous Stinger out the corner of her eye.

After a minute, conversation started back up. Jupiter smiled when Stinger remained silent before shuffling a little closer, obviously wanting to talk without being over heard. When he opened his mouth, Jupiter beat him to it.

“It’s fine, Stinger.”

He closed his mouth and arched his brows. “Majesty?”

“It’s fine,” She turned and met his gaze. “You weren’t making decisions for me, you were anticipating my needs. _That_ I appreciate.”

The lines around Stinger’s eyes and mouth marginally relaxed. “As you say, Majesty.”

She narrowed her eyes at him but he slipped away before she could open her mouth and berate him for his sarcasm. She turned to Caine. “No respect.”

Caine lifted a brow before smirking at her.

Jupiter scoffed and was about to open her mouth when the doors at the end of the hall opened. Serio edged inside, his eyes finding Stinger’s before his gaze slid to her. She hadn’t even noticed him leaving, but she knew what his return meant. She looked down to the end of the table where her mother and aunt were deep in conversation with Maggie about clothing designs. As if her attention was enough to summon them both, Alaska then Nino both looked up. Jupiter motioned with her head and hand for them to join her as she stood and headed toward the door where Serio stood sentry. Both Caine and Stinger followed.

“What’s this about, my Jupiter?” Aleska asked as they met and entered the hallway.

Jupiter motioned for Serio to lead the way. “I got a message earlier in the day from Vladie.”

Nino groaned. “What has that _chertovski pizda_ done now?”

Jupiter didn’t know what that meant, but from her mother’s gasped “ _Nino!_ ” and both Stinger wince and Caine’s smirk, it wasn’t pretty. “Well,” Jupiter started. “From what Tweak tells me, he somehow got involved with the mob.”

There was a chorus of snorts and a muttered “ _That figures_ ,” from Stinger that she decided to ignore. Before anyone could say anything else, Serio opened the door to Jupiter’s private office to find her cousin in the process of trying to _bribe_ Hone while subtly looking to sneak away from Perrin’s ever watchful gaze.

Jupiter opened her mouth to put a stop to it but was beaten to the punch by her mother.

“ _Vladimir Vassilov Bolotnikov!_ ” Aleska’s ‘disappointed mom voice’ caused even the heavily armed, six foot two, badger-splice hulk of Hone to straighten in attention. “What do you _think_ you’re _doing!?_ ”

Her voice rose to such a high pitch that that hearing enhanced splices in the room, namely Caine and Hone, winced in actual pain.

“Au-aunt Aleska!” Vladie started, jumping away from an amused Perrin as though burned. “I wasn’t doing anything!”

“That’s not what I hear.” Aleska crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

It was then that Vladie noticed the others in the room. “Aunt Nino!”

“Don’t you ‘Aunt Nino’ me you _plokhoye opravdaniye dlya cheloveka. Ya nadeyus’, chto vast chlen upadet, chtoby vy ne zagryaznili sem’yu svoyey glupost’yu_.”

Vladie turned bright red, getting from Nino’s insult to his manhood just how badly he’d screwed up this time. The room got quiet and even the Skyjackers turned away, embarrassed to be in the same room as her cousin.

Jupiter cleared her throat, rapidly getting used to being the center of attention. “What happened?”

Vladie opened his mouth and started rambling about being invited into a poker game and how it was supposed to be like taking candy from a baby, only he’d lost, and then stupid thugs taking advantage of him before finally revealing that they were low-level enforcers for Chicago’s version of the mob. When he refused to pay on the grounds that they’d cheated him, abducting him from his favorite bar to forcing him to leave her messages and why hadn’t she returned his calls? Then ending up tied to a chair in a warehouse downtown being beaten by some guy named Sergey to nearly being abducted by aliens, no shit Jupe, _actual-facts aliens_ to being rescued, only not really and then being bartered and _manhandled_ by Hone and Perrin, though he obviously didn’t mind Perrin as much until she’d been the one to knock him out. He’d woken up when they started dragging him down the stairs to this place and how about this place? Could she believe it and when were they getting out of here and heading home?

Throughout all this, Jupiter listened with brows raised, stunned anew to realize that just a few months ago she’d let this man-child convince her to sell her eggs and give him the greater portion of the money. Her only real excuse was that she’d literally grown up in his shadow; two years younger than him and always jealous of how easy everything came to him, she’d followed him around until she’d grown into a teenager when boys became icky. But even then, she’d looked up to him, was ensnared by his lackadaisical charm and the trust built upon her Uncle Vassily’s ‘protect your family’ motto. She’d been naïve and stupid, though that didn’t excuse how he’d manipulated her. But she’d made a choice to trust him and she wouldn’t blame him for her mistakes. She could only learn from them. When his rant finally died down, she turned to Perrin and raised a brow.

“We did as ordered: located the target and ensured his safety. Tweak alerted us to the problem when he and the cadre of Shadows went to blank the men holding your cousin; their memory was too far back and, as per your orders, he wouldn’t risk permanently damaging their minds. So we blanked the warehouse of the last few minutes and reassessed.”

Vladie squawked when Perrin started, realizing that Jupiter hadn’t directed her question at him in the first place and only shut up when Caine growled in his direction, eyeing Caine’s ears and teeth warily. His confused expression about why these people were obviously reporting to Jupiter gave way to incredulous understanding, but he wisely kept silent though his face grew more mutinous as Perrin’s report continued.

“That’s when we learned why he’d been abducted in the first place. We agreed to their terms with a bit of bargaining, thinking you wouldn’t mind if Tweak acquired whatever needed for us. We didn’t expect him to be worth much.”

Vladie opened his mouth again, only to shut it when Jupiter lifted a hand in his direction. She was pleased to note that that action seemed to work on more than just her vassals, though the recalcitrant set to his jaw and shoulders gave clear indication of what Vladie thought of Jupiter telling him what to do.

Hone chuckled. “Worth more than we thought, anyhow.”

“Worth?” Jupiter frowned, “What do you mean?”

“We had to pay the men holding him; they wouldn’t release him otherwise. Sergey Asimov wanted a lot money in exchange for his release. Money he apparently owed them,” Perrin explained, her soft voice amused. “Apparently, he’s owed them for some time; longer than Tweak was willing to erase, in any case, so it was simpler to just pay them off.”

“Simpler, sure,” Hone chuckled. “I suggested letting them work the amount out of his hide, but apparently neither he nor they liked that idea. Helped to bargain them down though, when they suspected we weren’t too torn up about leaving him in their tender care.”

Jupiter knew that they’d never even contemplated leaving her cousin; they wouldn’t dishonor their queen like that. This was a military splice’s form of teasing. The glint in Stinger’s eye when she glanced at him proved that, along with Caine’s slight smirk. But from Vladie’s expression, he hadn’t appreciated the splice’s form of teasing. Perhaps it would serve to remind him to be more cautious in the future. Then something occurred to her.

“How much did you have to pay?”

Perrin’s smile turned saccharine. “Seventeen thousand, eight hundred and seventy-three of your American dollars.”

Jupiter nearly swallowed her tongue. “And how much did you bargain them down from?”

“Twenty-five thousand.”

“Twenty…” Jupiter gaped, no idea what to say or do.

Nino had no such issues. She turned and smacked him just as hard as she could. On the head.

“Ow! Aunt Nino! Ow!”

She smacked him twice more. “I should smack you seventeen _thousand_ times, you no good _bomzh!_ Only I like my hand too much!” Then she hit him once more for good measure.

“I have no such issues,” Hone grinned, showing off his sharp teeth while rubbing his knuckles.

Vladie looked appropriately contrite when Jupiter finally rested her gaze up in him. Appropriately contrite for a spoiled and loved boy who’d never had to face true hardships or been denied anything he wanted. He’d never been treated with a lack of respect or common courtesy, never been treated with the kind of cruel disregard given to a living accessory that was expected by the splices standing to either side of him.

Money had never been the driving force behind Jupiter’s decisions, it was only ever a means to an end; like just enough of her ‘portion’ of the money to get a telescope just like the one her father once owned. Twenty-five thousand dollars wasn’t a lot in the broad scheme of things, but she hadn’t made much more than that in her eight years working for her uncle Vassily. That Vladie could gamble that away and then try to use her to pay it off – or not even, considering what he’d bought with his ‘share’ of the money – made her physically ill. As much currency as she was now worth, as much as twenty-five thousand dollars wasn’t even a dent in the interest made on the cash holdings of her common household accounts on Earth for less than a _quarter of the year_ , it was money spent not _for something_ , which she could have forgiven, but spent for no purpose other than _he couldn’t help himself_.

Jupiter couldn’t even look at him.

She turned and walked out of the room, ignoring her cousin’s shouts and pleas for her to _do_ _something_ , and gave orders in a quiet voice that nonetheless garnered the attention of those around her. “Cal, make sure he sends a message to his parents and lets them know that he’s all right. If he says anything beyond that, you delete it.”

“ _It shall be done, Lady Jupe_.”

“Stinger, make sure he gets medical attention. Then I want him fed, cleaned, clothed, and comfortable. And that’s it. Put him in a room that any standard splice would find acceptable. Understood?”

From Stinger’s grim expression, he understood _exactly_ what Jupiter meant by ‘acceptable for a standard splice.’ “Yes, Your Majesty.” He gave a short bow and disappeared back down the hallway, no doubt to deliver the orders and see them through personally.

“What does that mean?” Aleska asked from behind her. When Jupiter didn’t answer right away, Aleska grabbed her arm and wrenched her sharply around.

Because of her forward momentum and the unexpectedness of it, the move had the unintended consequence of throwing Jupiter off balance and nearly to the floor.

A flash of her mother’s contrite face and Nino’s widening eyes was all Jupiter saw before Caine was suddenly there, shoulder shield activating with an electric _buzz-snap!_ as he tucked her safely behind him with one arm, drew his mauler and aimed it at her mother with the other, a snarl on his lips. The only thing holding him back was Jupiter’s hand clenching hard on his shoulder.

“Stop, Caine.”

It wasn’t a shout, but at Jupiter’s command Caine straightened, holstered his pistol and shrugged his shoulder shield off. He didn’t move from his position between Jupiter and Aleska, though he did offer the older woman a slight bow. “Forgive my over-protectiveness. I cannot take any aggressive action against my queen lightly; my instincts won’t allow it.”

Aleska merely blinked at him before turning her gaze to her daughter as though asking her to do something about this. Jupiter stepped around Caine, leaving one hand on him to keep him in place as she turned and faced her mother. “It means,” she answered her mother’s earlier question. “That Vladie has a choice to make.”

“You’re not going to apologize?” Aleska demanded.

Unsure what specifically she was talking about, Jupiter nonetheless answered, “No.”

The expression of surprise turned to disappointment, but Jupiter wasn’t going to change her mind. On any of the issues facing her just now. What had just happened was an accident and an overreaction, but Caine was doing what he was supposed to; protecting her. She certainly wasn’t going to apologize for it, even if the person he was protecting her from was her own mother. And Vladie had made his own bed, and then gotten Jupiter involved in his problems more than once, the first of which resulted in her DNA being brought to the attention of the Abrasax family. So while she was ultimately thankful things had played out the way they had, she was _never_ going to actually thank her cousin for what he’d done. Getting her involved the second time tied her hands; she wouldn’t permanently damage an unknown number of men – whether or not they were mobsters and may _deserve it_ – in order to get her cousin out of a mess of his own making. But by bringing her into it, he’d made it her problem, so now she was going to handle it her way. She’d make no excuses for that.

Aleska narrowed her eyes at Jupiter. “You protect family.”

And oh, that hurt. The implication that she wasn’t doing everything in her power to protect her family from not just the people out in the universe who would happily melt her family down for a few more minutes of healthy life, but also from their own stupidity? She definitely _wouldn’t_ apologize for that, and neither would she explain herself. She shouldn’t have to, not to her mother.

“But family means you pay, right?” She didn’t know what look was on her face, but when Caine started growling low she swallowed and turned away for a moment to collect herself and push it all down. She didn’t want to start yet another argument; it was pointless at this point and the sooner her mother realized this, the better.

“My Jupiter…”

When she turned back, the sorrow on her mother’s face almost made her give in.

“I’m sorry,” Aleska murmured, reaching out a hand and cupping her Jupiter’s cheek.

Jupiter gave herself a minute to lean into her mother’s embrace. “Me, too, momma.” Then she straightened and turned around, walking away down the hall without another word to her mother, the ever-loyal Caine at her shoulder.

Aleska watched, heart heavy and proud both, seeing her daughter for the queen was and the formidable figure she would someday be. She knew that if she wanted a place at her daughter’s side, she would have to do a lot to regain Jupiter’s trust. A thoughtless accusation, thrown when she herself was afraid and confused and feeling helpless. Stupid. So stupid.

“It will be all right,” Nino murmured at her side, watching as their little Jupiter returned to the dining hall, a smile on her face and no indication of the stress she was under. “She’s strong, and he will do everything in his power to make sure she is protected enough to whether the coming storm.”

“I just hope it will be enough.”

“Well,” Nino said tartly. “We’ll never be there to find out if you don’t get your jealousy under control!”

“Jealous!” Aleska protested.

“Aren’t you? I know I am,” the admission was enough to get her sister to shut up. “Our little Jupiter, not so little anymore, who grew up with practically nothing and hardly complained despite working a despicable job when the other girls her age were playing with dolls and dressing up, kissing boys and dating. Our little Jupiter is now a queen with more money than she knows what to do with, and more responsibility than I think we’ll ever truly understand. And a good man who loves her and is not afraid of _you_.”

“He’s part wolf,” Aleska grumped.

“Space wolf, with wings.” Nino grinned. “You need to stop trying to _protect_ her and start _helping_ her, or you’ll only succeed in pushing her away.”

Aleska glared at her younger sibling. “So what am I supposed to do?”

“Start using that brain you were so proud of before Max’s death robbed you of your spirit,” Nino gentled her tone at her older sister’s pained gasp. “You taught Mathematics at Saint Petersburg. You understood your husband when he talked quantum physics and spun string theory about the universe. Getting your daughter’s accounts in order should be a snap; understanding them and how this universe’s economy works is only a little harder.”

“And what will you be doing?”

“Figuring out how to help that fearsome queen maneuver around the politics of this universe so that she can tear it _apart_.”

* * *

When Jupiter returned to the dining hall, it was to find everyone huddled around one end of the long table where Jai Malcuthe was holding court, giving an impromptu lesson on dining etiquette, table manners, and which utensil to use with which course of the often twelve-course meals enjoyed by Entitled during a proper celebratory dinner. Curious, she drifted over to watch, waving down the few of her court that tried to rise at her appearance. It was a useful lesson, one that, with the help of her communication implant, she could pull up and use at will.

She’d found out about the com-plant thing only recently when she tried to recall a little known section of the sheaves she’d been attempting to memorize for weeks, and her mental visual Heads Up Display had pulled it up for her. Jupiter recalled CMO Host saying that it would take a few days for the com-plant to fully integrate with her neural synapses, but she hadn’t expected it to literally download her memories and back them up on the microscopic quantum hard drive. No larger than the head of a pin the com-plant could store hundreds of petabytes of information. And like using Google search, she had only to think of a few key words and the com-plant would start scrolling through the relative information on her HUD until Jupiter visually selected which sheaves, videos, or memory she wanted to access and play it back. From that moment on, retaining the vast information necessary to maneuver through this universe became much easier.

“Shall we move on to the proper way to stand and approach another Entitled, Your Majesty?” Jai Malcuthe asked, proving that was very observant of his surroundings. Probably a very good survival tactic when navigating the dangerous waters of staying in an Entitled’s good graces.

At the not-so-subtle groans Jupiter could hear from more than one member of her court, she guessed this was not something to take on when full and sleepy. “Perhaps tomorrow after breakfast? We’ll start the lessons then. Will that be acceptable, Jai Malcuthe?”

The man nodded regally, “Of course, Your Majesty.”

“Good,” Jupiter turned waving the rest of them away. “Then I’m off to bed. Goodnight everyone.”

She drifted out of the room with several well-wishes for the night, Caine quietly at her left shoulder as they made their way down two floors to her bedroom. Once there she went through her nightly routine of undressing, brushing her hair and teeth and burrowing under the soft bedcovers. She was especially aware of Caine as he stripped out of his own clothes and into a pair of soft sweats before joining her on the bed. A bed that still smelled of them.

Suddenly she was no longer tired. The tension between them felt like a live wire only she wasn’t sure how to break it. Did she just jump him? Roll over onto him and demand he do his duty to his queen? That last thought nearly had her burst out in giggles, but she managed to stifle it into a near silent groan. But near silent wasn’t silent, especially to a man with the ears of a wolf.

Caine shifted beside her, looking over at her with an unreadable expression in his blue eyes. “Jupiter…”

“Yes?” she prompted when he didn’t say anything else.

He held out his hand to her, palm upturned, utterly steady. “Will you let me fuck you?”

Her heart gave a powerful thud that made her feel weak. She stared at him, wondering what was going on behind that impenetrable gaze, and then realized it didn’t matter. For now, nothing mattered but being with him. He used none of the flowery euphemisms like ‘sleep with’ or ‘making love’ she would have expected from anyone on her home planet, but the simple request did more for her than the flowery words ever would. She put her hand in his and whispered, “Yes.”

He put his arms around her and pulled her toward him almost before the words were out of her mouth. His lips closed hungrily over hers, devouring, hot. He tasted of the same toothpaste she used. His tongue stroked urgently in her moth and she met it with her own. Jupiter wrapped her arms around his neck and lost herself, pleasure and pure joy exploding through her veins.

Caine twisted, pushing down the cover and skimming out of the soft sweats he’d just donned. She lost the loose tee and shorts somewhere in the tumble when he returned. Jupiter didn’t know exactly how he got her out of them, but he did. Before she knew it, she was bare and tucked under him, his arms hard around her shoulders, his legs pushed between hers. A quick check with a delicious glide of calloused fingers and then his penetration was abrupt and forceful. Jupiter cried out, her back arching, her nails digging into his shoulders. His penis was so hot and hard it felt like a thick, heated pipe pushing into her unprepared body. She was just wet enough that it didn’t hurt as his whole body was hot with urgency, his muscles shaking as he probed deeper, working his length into her with short, digging jabs. His mouth covered hers, swallowing her moans as excitement swirled through her at how desperately he wanted her.

When he was finally in her to the hilt, a heavy, stretching presence, Caine buried his head against her shoulder, shuddering with relief as if he couldn’t have borne another moment unconnected to her. Jupiter smoothed her hands down his back and around his barely unfurled wings, feeling the powerful muscles rippling just under his skin. This wasn’t the Caine Wise she knew, this man with his desperate need. He was always so controlled, but there was nothing controlled about him now.

“There’s a concept I want to introduce to you,” she murmured. “It’s called foreplay.”

Caine lifted his head from her shoulder, smiling wryly. Propping himself on his elbows, settling more comfortably on her and in her, he framed her face in his hands and pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth. “I’m desperate where you’re concerned. Any time you let me touch you, I’m going to get inside you as fast as I can, before you have time to change your mind.”

The words didn’t shock her because they’d spoken of his expectations where Entitled and splices were concerned, but they hinted at a vulnerability, a need she was only starting to suspect he felt. He moved, a slow stroke that set off a small riot of nerve endings. Jupiter gasped, her thighs rising to clasp his hips. “Why would I change my mind?” she managed to ask, only swallowing a couple of the vowels as his movement.

“Things between us haven’t always been… easy.”

Things weren’t exactly easy between them now. Between their differing expectations and misunderstandings due to their very natures and upbringing there was tension and pain and uncertainty that only true communication the likes of which they were learning to utilize would solve. On top of all that, an explosive sexual attraction that they were only _beginning_ to explore, even a spark of hostility caused by the clash of two strong personalities, though thankfully they’d relegated their arguments to the times when they were alone. The only serene thing about their relationship was the deep well of trust that had seemingly sprung up overnight between them.

Jupiter slid her fingers into the short hair at the nape of his neck, holding him as she planted her heels over his calves and lifted her hips to do her own stroking. “If I wanted an easy ride,” she murmured into his mouth. “I’d find a merry-go-round.”

His entire body tightened and his eyes burned laser bright. He seemed to lose the ability to breathe. So she did it again, lifting to take him deep, then clamping all her internal muscles on him and holding tight as she pulled back, milking him with her body.

A harsh groan burst out of his throat and he drew nearly all the way out only to push slowly back in again. The sudden delicious friction had Jupiter’s breath leaving her in a rush, and she clung to Caine’s shoulders as she began to get a taste of the splice’s strength. It was nearly as breathtaking as the feeling of being so full and stretched inside.

“Alright?” Caine asked.

After making a rather incoherent noise, Jupiter tried to gather her thoughts enough to answer. Her hands took to stroking along the skin above and around her while she focused. “Fine, fine,” she finally stuttered out on an exhale, then released a moan as Caine pulled out and pushed in again. Slowly. “More than fine.” That was closer to the truth. Jupiter curled her arm around his back, sliding lower down Caine’s spine just to feel the muscles working with every thrust of his hips. It might have been her imagination but she thought that Caine arched into her hands like a cat as Jupiter stroked back upwards until she could dig her fingers into the arch of his shoulder blades. “F-faster. You can…” a breath fell from Jupiter’s lips, a sigh of pure pleasure as Caine filled and fulfilled her. “You can go faster.”

A few more rolls of Caine’s hips – assuring himself that she could take him easily – and feeling Jupiter’s urging both in words and in the grip of her hands and legs, was all the encouragement it took.

All Skyjackers were athletic, their bodies honed like weapons, doubly so for splices designed for the military. Caine, despite his ‘birth deficiency,’ as a lycaon-splice having trained his weaknesses out, was up there with the best of them; a true powerhouse. He began to focus that strength on Jupiter, actually pushing her up the bed until she locked her ankles a bit tighter around the small of Caine’s back. In turn, he curled an arm under her slim waist, which had the unexpected benefit of changing the angle of their coupling. Suddenly every thrust had Jupiter seeing stars, and she cried out at the raw, pleasurable sensation. Caine took great care to find that spot every time, murmuring, “Jupe, Jupe, Jupe…” over and over again next to her ear as he planted kisses in her hair.

When she came, Jupiter could feel every muscle in her body locking and spasming, and that must have dragged Caine’s orgasm out of him, too, because he groaned loudly and his rhythm suddenly stuttered. Dropping his head, instinctively sinking his teeth into the delicate slope of muscles between Jupiter’s neck and shoulder, Caine came deep inside her, muscles shuddering. Jupiter barely even felt the bite, too high in her head to care.

With Caine still buried in her and beginning to lean on her more heavily, Jupiter finally felt the tension she’d been carrying all day leave her. Her pulse was still rushing in her ears like the sound of the ocean, matching the overall haze of pleasure she was floating in, and the only thing that made it better was the nearness of Caine. A slight shift had Caine’s softening cock slipping out of her, but also saw him sinking down over Jupiter with both arms braced alongside her, providing just enough support so she wasn’t crushed beneath his considerable weight but was still close enough to touch. Indulging in just that, Jupiter began stroking anything within reach with lazy motions of tired arms: sides, back, panting ribs, broad shoulders, shuddering wings.

Head still bent and pleasantly exhausted himself, Caine soothingly pressed his lips to the bite mark he’d made – he’d feel guilty about that later – then brushed his nose against the hollow of Jupiter’s throat. “Thank you,” he found himself murmuring senselessly, smiling and feeling his eyes close. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

When Jupiter hummed, the sound of pleasure traveled right up the column of Caine’s nose and into the pleasure centers of his brain. “The feeling’s mutual, Caine,” she said, her voice low and rough from screaming a few moments earlier.

The smothered sound Caine made was almost a laugh. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

“Then show me what you did mean,” Jupiter murmured, turning so she could see his face.

That look was back in his eyes again, that unreadable wall behind which something elusive moved. “A lot of different things, Majesty,” he murmured, shifting so that she felt his rising hardness against her thigh. “But for now, we’ll concentrate on this one.”

* * *

The next day was filled with lessons: how to stand, how to walk, how to sit, how to greet someone who’s status was above yours, how to greet someone below you, how to move through a crowd, how _not_ to move, how to get someone’s attention without seemingly getting their attention. It was an endless parade of etiquette and ceremony, most of which Jupiter relegated to her com-plant to be recalled only when necessary.

During lunch, Jupiter was treated to a bit of a fashion show as the different styles Maggie had designed were brought to life and modeled by various people in her retinue. Maggie took much of her inspiration from fashion plates of Russian royalty during the height of the Tsars. Jupiter could see it in the long tunics, knee pants, wide skirts and tall boots for her household staff, and in the high collared, double-breasted coats designed for her skyjackers. Being uniforms and obviously meant as a set, the clothing varied to indicate heritage and position, job and placement in the household, and nevertheless reflected the attitudes of those who wore them. Though designed with an eye to individual comfort, they all had the unifying theme of impressed honeycomb on flat panels, a single, regal queen bee on all the buttons, and were cast unrelieved obsidian black with the accents and inner fabrics a bold, brassy gold.

Bees and honeycomb, black and gold.

The single queen bee was a delicate tribal looking thing, with a pair of double wings that reminded Jupiter of Kalique’s dragonfly, though they were thick and sturdy, not long and delicate. The double pair of antennae and the crest of the head were formed by mirrored fours, curved to resemble the symbol of the planet Jupiter. It was symbol that invoked those already in use by the Abrasax siblings, and yet wholly her own.

Jupiter couldn’t wait to see it emblazoned upon everything.

For her Skyjackers, each outfit was bespoke with differing details to enhance the physical characteristics of the wearer; like the impression of raven feathers in the high collar for Negi and of hawk feathers in the bodice for Perrin, a hint of hummingbird iridescence through Kerr’s asymmetrical top and skirt, and claws on the cuffs of a long jacket for Hone and Caine. Negi Moore, with his habit of trying to stay in the shadows, was pleased to find that if he stood still long enough, the nano-filaments throughout his uniform began emitting the colors reflected from behind him, essentially letting him _literally_ fade into the background. Kerr, on the other hand, found that when upright, her uniform remained the standard gold and black, but when she flipped upside down, as she so often did, the nano-fibers of her uniform turn bright green and jewel blue with shocks of ruby red and blinding pearl white in eye-catching iridescence, bringing attention to, and subtly distracting from, the many placards and pockets of her skirt that hid an array of throwing knives, needles and darts. Both Corrine and Slate’s uniforms were designed to disperse the extra weight carried by the team’s medic and communications officer, while Hone’s was designed to accommodate an array of heavy artillery without sacrificing style. Made from a dilatant polymer that resembled thick, soft suede, the material was imbedded with the standard neural synaptic connections the Skyjackers needed to access the vast array of weapons and technologies imbedded in their very skin.

The designs and technology spoke of the skill and care given by Maggie, who had effectively taken what was standard for Legionnaires and made them better, more unique, and fitted for the people they were designed for. Jupiter could tell her Skyjackers appreciated the effort by the way they subtly included her in their conversation that evening. If this was what Maggie could do with standard uniforms, Jupiter couldn’t wait to see what the woman designed for her.

After dinner was a full dance lesson, only it wasn’t like any dancing Jupiter expected. It was more reminiscent of old folk dances she’d seen on movies where everyone danced in concert and the only touching was done by the tips of the fingers and only when it was necessary to make certain shapes on the dance floor.

That night, safe in Caine’s arms, exhausted by another bout of furiously gentle lovemaking, Jupiter was assaulted by doubts and worries. The lessons today had brought home that she was entering a strange new world. She couldn’t help but feel like she was making every possible mistake; Kalique, Titus, Balem… not knowing what was true and what was a mask carefully constructed to make her think a certain way. These people had _centuries_ to perfect the way they manipulated and connived, and she was incredibly young compared to them, a mere babe. Yet, with Seraphi’s face – if the Abrasax siblings were anything to judge an entire universe by – they would expect her to act like she’d had nearly one hundred millennium behind her. It was a confusing shattered mirror of images designed to make her question whether it was even her in the reflection, to make her question her own worth. The only thing standing still in this maelstrom, the only thing she could see clearly… was Caine.

He loved her. It was obvious in every deed and word and touch and kiss. He’d proved it by how he returned to her side, again and again, beyond worlds and through blockade and hurricane, ceding her control of his will, giving her what he’d never given another Entitled; his love and loyalty. She could be grateful to Titus for two things: opening her eyes as to her real worth in this universe and the lies and lengths people would go to achieve it for themselves; and giving her Caine. For him, she could attempt to forgive Titus. If nothing else came of this experiment of being Entitled or her designs to change things, she would take all the bad in balance that she had Caine to cling to, to keep her safe and warm.

It was an excruciatingly empowering feeling.

No one warned her that love was this fierce. That love was the killing rage as well as the gentle caress. She saw it reflected in him; that for as much as he would have spilt his own blood or torn others’ from their throat for her, she would, she _could_ do the same for him, tear through the galaxy like a black hole, ripping apart everything that kept him from her. That she loved him with a fury that made her breathless. She knew he cared about her, loved her, but Jupiter hadn’t fully realized until now that she felt the same for him as he did for her, that she would lead only so long as he followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post translations here, but then thought better of it. Nino has a very dirty mouth. Trust me on this.
> 
> As always, comments, kudos and questions are welcomed.
> 
> Hearts.


	15. Event Horizon: Part VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited on 4/24/2018

Her time on Callisto, before she was expected to be presented before the Nakshatra, went by rather more quickly than Jupiter was ready for.

The second day after arriving and settling herself on Callisto started with a ship requesting permission to land first thing in the morning. It was a delivery from Ores consisting of a Legate carrying what he called ‘Seraphi’s Legacy’ which was a large chest made out of something Stinger called plas-crete fashioned to look like marble. Inside, the Legate proclaimed was the dowry of her late Majesty and that it could only be opened via live DNA. When pressed further, the Legate informed her Royal Majesty that only Seraphi had known what she was leaving to her reincarnated self, as there was no paperwork to accompany the chest beyond the inheritance forms. Jupiter set it aside to figure out when she wasn’t so creeped out by the fact that her pre-incarnation had essentially left herself a goody bag.

Along with the Legate came supplies; reams of cloth, boxes of goods, weapons, tools for maintenance, foodstuffs, and people; humans, splices and cybernetics: all ready and willing to fill in the gaps of her household. Of the cybernetics, four were introduced to Jupiter beyond her general ‘welcome, so glad you could come’ by Sky, who had ordered them specifically from a list of available cybernetics looking for new ownership.

Metis was a slim but tall android with matte navy blue skin and dark grey metal parts. His eyes resembled a cat’s in that they were a bright gold color and had slit pupils. He was her new security officer and would command the impressive droid corps under Stinger. Thebe was a robust little robot with several arms, a round wheeled bottom half, pale skin and white parts and, after Aranea Strand had been offered and accepted a position in Jupiter’s household as her personal doctor, he would be assisting her in a medical capacity. Then there was Amalthea; incredibly tall at seven feet with six slender arms, rosy skin and gold parts, she was designed specifically to style hair and apply cosmetics in the latest fashion. Lastly was Adrastea, with delicate features in dark coffee and silver, she specialized in fashion finishing and would help Jupiter get into all the clothing, dresses and gowns Maggie would design for her.

Jupiter remembered the production that was getting into the gown Titus had set aside for their wedding and how she’d lost count of the splices, drones and synthetics that had helped her look the part. At one point she’d closed her eyes to fight the dizziness caused by watching the literal ballet of people swirling around her, so she was entirely grateful to Sky for limiting herself to acquiring only two personal dressers. Though Sky’s look said it was only ‘for now.’

Jupiter was actually very impressed with Sky and Stella, who’d manage to order as much as they had, along with hiring most of the people they said they’d need to operate Jupiter’s household, so quickly.

“We’ll eventually acquire more, Your Majesty,” Stella murmured as they watched the literal parade of nearly forty personnel be present to Her Majesty Jupiter Maxine Bolotnikov Jones, Second Prime of House Abrasax. “To flesh out every need in your Household. But this is the bare minimum required to operate respectively.”

Cleaners, cooks, wait staff, tailors and seamstresses, even a secondary human caregiver for the few children of those parents, named Ananke Starr.

“She was a find,” Sky boasted. “Her asking price was very high because she was educated on the instruction of young Entitled, had no pre-debt and is only looking for a sponsor for citizenship. But when she saw that you were willing to accept family, she lowered the price almost by half. She has a wife and a young daughter.”

“It was a gamble, putting your contract out there like we did, but it’s paid off.”

Jupiter turned to look at Stella. “What do you mean?”

“When you first advertised your contract, I didn’t think it would garner the kind of good attention you would want; I thought it would make you look weak, offering such generous terms. But I think people are responding to it well, especially with the kind of rumors we know are circulating about you on the nets.”

“The Barbarian Queen,” Jupiter sneered.

Stella laughed out loud before covering her mouth and shooting Jupiter an apologetic look. Jupiter lasted a few seconds of looking stern before cracking up herself.

Sky merely rolled her eyes. “They won’t be laughing when they see you at Kalique’s Ascendant Ceremony. Maggie has done a wonderful job.”

“Yes, she has,” Jupiter nodded, sending a soft smile at the way Maggie puffed up at the foot of the dais, standing next to an equally proud Serio.

The gowns and outfits Maggie started to churn out of her work rooms for Jupiter were impressive to say the least. Long, elaborate gowns that hugged like a bath robe but looked like a cake topper, everyday dresses with tucked bodices and flared skirts, even a few outfits that looked like riding habits with split skirts and stylish jackets. Comfortable pants that looked like leather but felt like jersey cotton, shirts, tunics and blouses designed to show off Jupiter’s slim build, generous bosom and short torso in jewel tones of every color of the rainbow.

“Except pastels and white,” Maggie muttered mostly to herself during one of the many trying-on sessions she insisted were so that she could get Jupiter’s approval. “Pastels wash you out and white is too presumptuous. Pale gold is a good color on you though.”

Jupiter nodded and marveled. Very few of the outfits needed adjustment; Maggie was just that good. The honeycomb and bee motif was creatively added throughout the designs, sometimes hidden in only the pattern of the fabrics or the line of a seam, sometimes glaringly obvious with bright gold lace overlaying a dark fabric design. Jupiter was pleasantly surprised with the other aspects of the dress designs Maggie had incorporated; some of the fabrics would change color with the temperature of the room or who was standing near her, some would change shape with the speed of her movement; Jupiter was especially pleased with this last bit because if she needed to run for any reason, and her history proved that she very well might have to, her long cumbersome skirts would automatically rise in the hem and loosen around her legs to allow freedom of movement.

With more people to do the chores and prepare rooms and take on the everyday tasks of a large household, it seemed Callisto _alcazar_ was running much more smoothly, and the stress she hadn’t even realized her people were under slowly melted away. Everyone began to settle into a routine.

The next couple of days Jupiter’s mornings were full of lessons on comportment and bearing, and how to address the Nakshatra. Her afternoons consisted of lessons with her mother and aunt and Jake, learning the ins and outs of Ores laws and the vagaries of how the tri-branch government of the Imperium, the Nakshatra and the Commonwealth Ministry ran things, the details of the Code of Conduct which governed the interactions of Entitled peoples, and the intricacies of her Royal ways and Means and what it meant for Jupiter’s future economic growth. Jupiter had never been so glad for the memory backup of her com-plant as she was during these lessons.

Lunch became an adventure in the culinary arts as Kylee began to incorporate the common dishes found in the gyre; which her people appreciated, as well as some of the more rare delicacies only Entitled could afford. Spiced drinks that warmed from the inside, crystal light candy that melted in the mouth with an effervescent pop, spun sugar flowers that carried liqueur cordials within their centers, a light meat that tasted like smoked chocolate, crispy leaves that left a hot tang on the tongue, steaming biscuits that melted in the mouth, and fruit of every color, shape and nature from sweet to tart to sour.

Her afternoons were spent under Jai Malcuthe’s tutelage, learning comportment and polishing the lessons he’d already given until they were second-nature. Just before dinner he would give another dance lesson, which Jupiter insisted her people take part in. It was a joy to see splices and secondary humans, children and adults alike, enjoying something they’d never thought they could take part in.

Her evenings, when they weren’t spent going over accounts, or approving personnel hires, or signing off on equipment transfers and orders, were spent in Caine’s arms learning more about him, herself, them, and how losing herself in him was like being found, and how letting him lose himself in her was the most empowering, addictive thing she’d ever experienced.

After their latest coupling, where she’d encourage him to take her in places other than the bed, and they’d discovered the wall of the bathing area together, they’d stumbled to the bed on shaky legs to nap between rounds. An hour later, floating in blissful antigravity, Jupiter whispered, “Mmm, you smell good.”

The _alcazar_ automatically simulated the hours of a normal planet’s rotation despite Callisto’s day being dramatically different from Earth’s. Night below the surface of the moon made the room eerily dark, and the only light came from the bioluminescent creatures in the deep tank and the blue fire they’d forgotten to shut off in the crystal fireplace. Caine enjoyed the sensation of just floating in the dark with Jupiter spooned behind him, her small arm around his waist and her face buried between his furled wings.

“Thank you, Majesty. You do, too,” he assured her, rolling to face her and feeling absurdly pleased to be allowed in her space. She was on her side now, hand catching the wild tendrils of her hair in a fist, smiling in the dim light. He wished he could describe how she smelled to him, how the synesthesia of his senses made the chemicals coming off her skin look like a floating pink and gold aura, how it darkened to red when she wanted him or was angry, how it cooled when she was concentrating, warmed when she was pleased, and how it muddied when she was sad. And how, after only a few days, her skin carried notes of his own scent, as though she was taking parts of him into herself, and leaving bits of herself with him.

“I thought this would be more awkward,” Jupiter mused as she reached to touch his shoulder.

“Because I’m a splice?” Caine mirrored her gesture, more aware than ever of the privilege her affection granted him. Her skin was warm and soft and becoming addictive to stroke.

Jupiter laughed as though he was joking and snugged closer, her breath warm against his throat. “Because I think you look better without your clothes. I keep telling myself it would be wrong to instate a rule where you have to remove you clothing whenever you’re in my presence,” came her chuckled reply.

He could feel his blush, the heat racing down his fair skin. “I would do it if you asked it of me, Majesty.”

“I think it would be…” her fingers slid down his stomach, along the trail of blond fur under his belly button, “…distracting.”

“Ungh-” Caine reared back and glanced down his body. “Speaking of distractions…”

“Part of being Queen involves being able to do many things at once,” Jupiter informed him, her clever fingers encircling his thickening shaft. “As a result, I’ve gotten very good with multitasking.”

“So I see, and feel,” Caine groaned softly before using his wings to twist himself above her. “But I’m a firm believer in worshipping at the altar of my Queen, as it were.”

“Such a good boy,” came her tease. “I think I understand why you were called the best hunter in the gyre.”

“Hey, hey – none of that,” Caine growled around a crooked grin. “I can’t have my Legion reputation associated with…” he flexed in her fingers, making her chuckle.

“Mmm, well,” she smiled, rolling back. “I’ll probably be thinking about it each and every time.”

“I suspected you were gonna be trouble from the first moment I’d smelt your gene-print,” Caine mused, rubbing his nose down between her breasts and heading toward her small dip of a belly button. “You smelled like fire and honey, lemons and smoke and heat. You picked up my Mauler first thing after waking and didn’t even blink when I told you it was loaded.”

“Really?” Jupiter sounded delighted; although he was too busy nuzzling her flat stomach to respond verbally. She squirmed when he reached her navel, but Caine managed a raspy lick there that made Jupiter giggle and try to push him away.

“Well when I first saw you I thought…”

He lifted his head. Caine knew from the way her scent intensified that she was enjoying the string of kisses he was leaving across the soft mound of her belly, but he was curious as to Jupiter’s first impression of him. “Yes?”

“I thought you were an angel. Or an elf,” she chuckled. “I actually believed I was dreaming because no way could you be real, especially not with those ears.”

“ _Tersies_ ,” he snorted, and went back to kissing her abdomen. Jupiter wiggled. When her legs parted to admit him, Caine gave a low, pleased moan at the scent of her wet heat, knew her cunt was pulsing, spilling the soft liquid of her arousal. And he wanted to taste it; wanted to bury his tongue so deep between her thighs that he would always be a part of her. He rubbed his nose from one sharp little hipbone to the other before brushing his chin against the soft, almost lacy fur lower down. “Nice.”

“You’re not…” Jupiter began to protest faintly, the lean muscles tensing under his lips. Her hands gripped his bare shoulders, and Caine felt her fingers flex uncertainly. He blew a warm breath experimentally across her curls and she shuddered.

“Yeah, I thought you’d like that,” he murmured. “I won’t if you don’t want me to, but I’d really like to.”

“Really?” came her surprised question.

Caine felt a pang of sorrow at how uncertain Jupiter sounded. Clearly she hadn’t been handled like the treat she was. He decided then and there that whatever else, she deserved to come first, always. “Of course, Your Majesty” he replied, and realized ‘always’ implied a lot more than he was willing to expect of her. But Caine didn’t want to think about that, not when the beautiful tangle of warm ringlets and sleek pink folds were demanding his full attention. He dipped his head lower and pressed a kiss along the seam of her sex, careful to keep it light, and felt Jupiter shudder, her thighs unconsciously parting wider to him.

“Mmm,” came her pleasured moan. “Caine…”

“Shh,” he murmured, and bent his head again, letting the ball of one thumb slide along the slick and beautiful cleft deep within the dark curls. The sweet sight of her rosy lips, already glazed and slick sent a lustful thrill through him, and Caine dragged his tongue along the sensitive flesh, tasting her heat and flavor.

Careful of his own strength, he slid his hands under her peachy ass, cupping it tenderly as he devoured her lovingly. Like her scent, her taste was all honey and lemons, fire and smoke; it burst upon his tongue in a riot of color and saturated his senses until all he could see and smell and taste and _feel_ was Jupiter. It was fun, Caine realized, to explore and tease and learn about Jupiter’s delicious little quim. Some moves, like licks along the inside creases of her thighs made her squirm. Suckling the sweet petals of her lips made her shiver, and long, slow strokes against the hardening pearl of her clitoris had Jupiter gripping his hair tightly and pushing herself up against his teasing mouth, begging for more.

It was an anatomy lesson seared into his brain and along his tongue. He wanted to dive in head-first and never come out, revel in her like the dog he likened himself to rolling around in grass. He’d had her scent imprinted on his tongue from the very first moment Titus had wafted the simulated gene-print in his direction; with her taste in his nose he could find her anywhere in the universe. But it was more than that. After catching her true scent off the form in the clinic, something about her had drawn his instincts to the surface. Her smell and taste and bearing had brought him to a fever-pitch of fighting with own desires. Tasting her here, where her core scent was so strongly mingled with her desire for _him_. It did something to him. Caine fought the quivering rise of his own demanding desire as he rocked his unruly cock in the air, denying himself pleasure as he brought Jupiter to peak after peak, chasing the tart sweetness of her climactic surrender.

Finally though, she tugged on his hair and gasped, “Jesus, just  _take_  me already!”

With one ticklish wipe of his slick lips against her thigh, Caine pulled himself up and slid along the damp, warm curves of Jupiter’s frame, working himself between her welcoming thighs, and thrust. The hot squeeze of her cleft around his aching shaft made him grunt. He rocked into her slowly, but Jupiter spread her knees and wrapped her legs around his hips. Caine felt her ankles cross above his ass as she raked her nails along his back, hooking her fingers under the anchors of his wings and pulling.

“NOW!” came her panting demand. “Please, Caine!”

He gave in and thrust hard, the damp flesh of their bodies smacking as they rocked against each other in a joyous, dizzy union filled with gasping, growling and groans. Caine let himself plunge into Jupiter, driven by her insistent cries he pushed deeper, his chest rose a little quicker, his grip on her legs a little stronger, and there was the soft slick of their flesh rubbing against each other. With the driving urge to get _deeper_ hounding him, Caine growled as he levered up between her thighs, her legs raised and knees bent over his arms as he pulled her up into his lap on onto his cock.

Like kindling tossed onto a dying flame, the force of Caine pushing into her over and over again, stroked sensitive tissue and fired nerve endings to screaming life in a sudden, consuming _flash_ of too-much-not-enough that had Jupiter arching and moaning and turning her head to bite his wrist where he’s braced himself at her shoulder at the abrupt shock of how full she was. She could feel herself getting wetter, the drag-push of every sensitive inch inside as Caine held her hips with one hand and jabbed onto her g-spot with every thrust. She mewled in pleasure, stuttering a whine, thrusting back against him and futilely pushing her weight into the scalding pressure between her legs. Above her, Caine breathed roughly, his teeth bared through a rough grunt as he lowered his head so his lips could caress her shoulder as he thrust inside her with steadily increasing strokes.

“Harder,” she gasped.

He growled at her shoulder, his teeth scraping the flesh as she bucked beneath him. Sweat soaked their bodies and Caine clung to his control with desperate fingers, fighting the urge to lock his teeth on her delicate shoulder and give her exactly what she wanted.

“Please,” she tightened on his throbbing erection, her fingers digging into his back. “Please, Caine. Fuck me harder. Please.”

He’d fought the instincts, the driving hunger, as long as he could. When her words whispered over his senses, he was lost. He snarled at her shoulder, gripping it with his teeth as his hands tightened on her hips and he gave her what she was begging for. Sinking into slick heat, he set a hard, fast rhythm that drove his erection to the very depth of her, burying his cock and fucking her with a hunger he’d never known in his life.

“God! Caine!” Jupiter screamed his name.

He could feel his release looming as hers rippled over him. He held her still as he pumped inside her harder, the sounds of wet sex filling his ears, her sucking flesh tightening, milking him, and fighting to hold him deep as her juices spilled around him. It was too much. Too hot. Too damned tight. He felt the last of his control snap as his own release broke free of his restraint and he lost himself in the glorious sizzle of each pulsing throb.

“No. Oh stars, no,” Caine tried to pull back as he felt a desperate swelling at the base of his cock, a pulsing erection that terrified him.

Jupiter was screaming beneath him. She was so tight, her flesh stretched, hugging him, giving way to the knot blooming in his cock and locking him deep inside her. He couldn’t move without hurting her, couldn’t jerk his swelling flesh free of her tight clench. He could only groan in defeat, hold her to him and allow his release to surge through his body.

She writhed as the roundest, thickest part of Caine’s knot slipped into her, passed the ring of muscles in an unrelenting push against her insides. It _hurt_ ; part relief, part strain and intense pressure as she was worked open even further. Her body wasn’t meant to take this. Jupiter was so full she couldn’t breathe for how every sensation in her body tunneled to where she was stretched and tight and _God_ she couldn’t think she was going to combust. He rolled his hips in a slow, serpentine move that instantly fried her brain and made her clit pop out and her muscles clench down.

“ _Jupiter_ ,” her name was partly subsumed by an outright growl, and then he pushed a hand down on her lower abdomen, flicked a thumb against her clit just once, and everything exploded in a torrent of white like a geyser erupting. Jupiter howled as every bit of sensation she was capable of concentrated where they were joined like she’d never had an orgasm in her life. She gripped down on the impossible weight inside her with every surge of pleasure-pain, and it fed back into itself over and over, muscles seized and cramped and it didn’t stop, she was gonna die and she didn’t _care_.

Caine tasted blood and realized the sharp tips of his canines had pierced her shoulder. His tongue licked over it, his mouth suckling the small wound as she whimpered beneath him. The wracking shudders that had slammed through her body were weaker now. She trembled in his arms, clenching on the hard knot locked inside her. He held her close, breathing roughly, fighting his own shock and horror through intermittent bursts of orgasmic echoes.

Jupiter came around slowly, rising to the surface of consciousness like a bubble through shampoo, and it was only when she tried to move that she realized Caine was _still_ _coming_. Her eyes snapped open and even through the dim shadows cast by the bioluminescence she could see how wrecked he looked; body quivering and face pinched in total rictus as he filled Jupiter up even more. It should be gross the way she could feel all that hot-mess held in place by the knot. But everything was so distant and far away and her eyes were so heavy.

She made a noise, a sort of purr but without the genomgineered talent for it, and Caine pressed forward, burying his nose in her neck as he shifted his hips and shook in her arms. They were tied together, though now that the indistinct blur of her monumental orgasm was mostly over, it wasn’t actually that overwhelming anymore.

“How long?” she mumbled. Caine’s body heat was seeping into her bones, deepening her fatigue.

“Not sure,” came the eventual, soft reply kissed into the sweaty skin of her neck. “Maybe half an hour.”

“You don’t know?” The anti-gravity of the bed meant she didn’t have to roll over to ease any aches. It also meant they could stay just like this, curled up like puppies, without worrying over his weight eventually crushing her. She put a definite mark in her mental plus column for the bed. She felt the slight shrug of his shoulders even though she couldn’t see it, and her Caine Silences Dictionary kicked in. He didn’t speak right away, but she knew awkwardness when it was pressed against her skin. “You never did this with anyone else, huh?”

“No. There was never anyone I… I never wanted to before.”

There was a _novel_ in the gap between the sentences, and Jupiter was perversely glad that Caine _literally_ couldn’t avoid her right now. He wasn’t her first, but in this she was his, in a way that probably meant more to Caine than most human’s virginity did to them even after they lost it.

“You’re doing cleanup,” She chirped, putting as much lightness as she possibly could into the words before wrapping their legs up in such a way that it would probably be uncomfortable after a while, but she was close enough to dozing that she didn’t care.

“Yes, Majesty.”

Jupiter grinned a little dopily at the dry words before closing her eyes.

* * *

Caine walked the long corridor that wound around the outside of the entire complex, deep in though as he slowly meandered to his destination. That morning had started out slow and lazy, and late. He had meant to move away from her during the night, to leave the bed, the room, to find someplace away from the sweet scent of her where he could think. Where he could consider this new, shocking development clearly. But as he moved from her, she whispered his name. Drowsy with repletion, her body exhausted from the demands he had made on her, it had sighed over his own flesh like a whisper of silk as she moved against him.

She tugged at him, pulling him against her until she could snug her head into his chest. He stared at the tangle dark hair spilling into the air around them. What was he supposed to do? Tentatively, he turned to her and wrapped his arms around her as she wound their legs together. He thought the position would be uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. She fit against him like he was made for her.

He’d never held a body after having sex with them before Jupiter; he’d never felt comfortable enough, or secure enough. He’d sure as hell never slept with one. But Jupiter was different. Makers, what had he done to her? Caine closed his eyes, swallowing at the memory of that thick swelling into her tight clench. The pleasure had been so intense, so much deeper than anything else he’d ever experienced that even then, moments after finishing, he’d wanted nothing more than to repeat it.

Instead, he’d held her against him and let her rest, his chin against her head, his fingers sunk into the soft waves of her hair. Before long her hand smoothed over his chest, down his abdomen, and across the top of his thighs.

Caine had tensed. “Jupiter,” his voice was dark, thick, his fingers tightening in her hair.

“Hmm?” She caressed her way between his powerful legs, her fingers moving slowly until she was cupping the smooth silken sac of his scrotum. “Why don’t you have hair here?”

“Ah, merciful Matri.” His hips arched as she caressed his testicles softly, running her fingers over the ultra-smooth, obviously ultra-sensitive flesh. “Because I’m a splice.” He pushed the words through clenched teeth.

“Mmm,” she pressed a kiss to his chest, watching his hard flesh jerk as she cupped the sac more fully within her palm.

“Jupiter,” he groaned as she moved lower, her lips stroking over his flexing abdomen. “Majesty, wait.”

“For what?” her hand stroked up from his testicles to the velvety hard shaft, exploring the fleshy bulge at its base. At least as thick as her wrist, her fingers couldn’t circle around its widest part. The tapered head was a dark color, almost violet, indicating the level of Caine’s arousal. Not more than her own, even now, mere minutes after waking, she ached to feel him buried within her once more, locking tight and hard inside her. She watched as her hand slid up his length, her finger rubbing over the slick essence that seeped from the head.

“We need to talk,” His voice was strained. “About earlier. My Queen, we need to figure this out.”

“What’s there to figure out?” She laid her head on his lower stomach, the weeping tip of his erection just below her. Before he could speak, her tongue peeked out from her lips and swiped along the glistening head.

“Oh, stars. Jupiter,” he muttered, his fingers tangling in her hair as the muscles of his abdomen clenched harshly.

She went lower, despite the pressure he exerted on the locks he gripped. Her mouth capped the hard crest, her longue flickering over the little eyelet at the tip before stroking around the flared ridge. She licked her lips slowly as she watched him from beneath lowered lids, hungry for the taste of him. There was something wickedly exciting in drawing his cock into her mouth. Something that fired all of her baser instincts and made her completely wanton.

When the pressure of his hand in her hair became too much, she let him draw her back up the length of his body. When she was close enough, Jupiter lifted her head and licked her tongue over his lips, pressing against them, slipping between them. She shared the taste of his essence with him then. Her gaze locked with his, seeing shock flare in his eyes for a second before he groaned roughly, the hand holding her hair tightened and pulled so that he could take control of the kiss. His tongue swept into her mouth demandingly, licking at her lips, her tongue, kissing her with a heat and hunger that had her arching into his touch.

“Enough,” he tore his mouth from her, breathing roughly as he met her gaze intently. “You felt what happened last time, Jupiter. You know what I did to you. I knotted you, like a dog.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, smiling in anticipation. “Now do it again.”

Shock filled his gaze, then heat. Incredible incendiary heat as he stared at her intently. Slowly a smile that could only be called wolfish curled his mouth.

He’d knotted her twice more before the morning cycle began. After a badly needed shower, she’d startled him again by pressing a hand to his chest. “If you need to figure out what’s happened, you can.”

Her gaze had been tender, understanding. He’d kissed her forehead and then gone down on his knees, pressing his head to her thighs in the traditional manner of obeisance to thank her. She’d huffed at him, in an endearing mimicry of his own doglike tendencies, and then promised to let _both_ Kerr and Negi shadow her until his return.

He’d wondered at how she seemed to know him better than he knew himself because no sooner than he’d asked Cal had the cheeky _alcazar_ responded “ _Her Majesty has ordered Lieutenant Rufus Wolfe to attend you in the main offices on the Security Floor_.”

So here he was, slowly climbing to see a lycantant alpha to ask about something so personal he wasn’t sure he could get the words out, let alone have a civil conversation with someone who’s likely to look down on him as he’s been looked down on his whole life by his kind.

The office on the security floor was utilitarian, like all rooms not designed for the Entitled. There was a pair of desks in the center of the room, facing each other, ergonomic kneeling chairs tucked under the edge. On either side of the room was a wall of storage cabinets, some filled with files and sheaves, others filled with supplies, and an entire center cache of weapons, weapon parts, and weapon repair kits. On the far wall was a bank of screens displaying the various levels of the _alcazar_ , including every angle of the landing bay and the visitor halls. And standing in front of them, feet shoulder width apart and wrists crossed at the small of his back, was alpha lycantant Legionnaire, Lieutenant Rufus Wolfe.

He was the epitome of a normally genomgineered lycantant; tall, broad shouldered, dark coloring. He was everything Caine was not.

“Caine Wise,” the Lieutenant turned on his heel until he was facing the door. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Caine smirked, crossing his arms and leaning back against the closed door, affecting an air of nonchalance despite the Lieutenant’s ability to smell otherwise should he wish to. “All good, I hope.”

“All incredibly remarkable, considering your beginning.” At Caine’s near sub-vocal growl, Rufus Wolfe lifted a hand and took a step back. The show of submission appeased something in him, so Caine turned his head away. Wolfe raised a brow. “I meant that, you know.”

“The ‘considering your beginning’ thing?”

“The ‘incredibly remarkable’ thing,” When Caine lifted his head, Wolfe gave a single nod. “You’ve done very well for yourself. That’s not a subtle dig at you,” he reiterated at the other man’s dark look. “I’m just saying that I’m an admirer of your reputation.”

“In my experience, when people try to cozy up to me,” Caine glided forward on the balls of his feet. “It’s because they want something from me.”

Wolfe chuckled, “Isn’t that why we’re here? _You_ want something from _me_?”

“All right,” Caine pulled up short. “What do you want?”

“You first.”

Caine thought about what he wanted to ask Rufus Wolfe and then flushed. Wolfe tipped his head to the side, like he was seeing something interesting, then his nostrils flared and he threw back his head and laughed. Caine’s flush deepened as he cursed his pale skin for the hundredth time.

“The Queen favors you,” Wolfe acknowledged after gaining control of his mirth.

Caine answered. “Yes.”

“She’s taken you as a lover.”

Another non-question that Caine nevertheless answered. “Yes.”

“Are you in love with her?”

It was a jolt to his system, to hear that asked so bluntly. Not ‘do you love her’ or the simple statement ‘you love her’ which both could have been played off as the love of a devoted servant to a master, but a query of the heart. And Caine could not lie.

“Yes.”

Wolfe twisted away at the word, as if he didn’t want to hear it; as if it hurt him to hear it. He took several deep breaths while Caine watched, morbidly curious about what the other man would say.

“Because of your birth defect you were raised without a pack.”

Caine blinked at the blunt statement, both insulted and curious about the apparent non-sequitur. He didn’t bother answering this time, just settled against one corner of the desk and crossed his arms, prepared to wait until the other man deigned to actually ask him a question.

“You were raised in the Crèche without the benefit of lycantant siblings and you went through puberty in the company of the Matris, who no doubt curbed your more natural inclinations until you were sent planet-side after you came of age. And by then none of the packs would accept you.”

Caine blinked again, surprised out of his silence. “You are surprisingly well informed about my childhood.”

“As I should be,” Wolfe cryptically replied. “Unlike humans, lycantants become pre-adults well before we hit our teens. Aggression is one of the first signs of it, so the Matris send young to the planet to work out the hormone overload that lycantants go through during puberty. You were likely a late bloomer on top of being Isabelline.”

“I was eleven,” Caine tipped his head to one side, studying the other man as he finally began to understand where Wolfe was leading him. “What do you mean, ‘hormone overload’?”

Wolfe nodded, “Like humans, our females hit puberty first, beginning the process of maturity through becoming fertile. It’s why aggression among the males is usually the first sign. Without the constant presence of fertile female siblings to trigger our aggression, males don’t go through rut.”

Caine could feel his skin heat at the word. He knew what a ‘rut’ was, having heard the term loosely described by one of the less kind Matris in charge of his education, along with ‘animals’ and ‘natural incest.’ Like their animal cousins, male lycantants went through a state of sexual readiness in the presence of a fertile female, whether or not that female was related to them.

“I know what you’re thinking, and you’re not wrong,” Wolfe met his gaze when Caine lifted his head. “But neither are you right.”

“You saying you don’t get hard when your female siblings and pack-mates are ovulating?” Caine asked bluntly, tired of the biology lesson.

Wolfe tipped his head. “Do you get hard at every whiff of willing female?”

“Of course not,” Caine grimaced.

Wolfe spread his hands.

“Then what are you saying? You don’t actually go into rut when your sisters are in heat?”

This time, it was Wolfe’s turn to grimace. “Don’t ever say that word around Rani; she’ll gut you and watch you bleed out while lecturing that felines go through heat, canines go through œstrus.”

Caine smirked. “Had that lecture, did you?”

“More than once,” Wolfe complained before heaving a sigh and turning to face Caine directly. “When we’re young and not in complete control of ourselves, we get hard at the mere sight of a female, and our sisters would get wet at the mere thought of any male. During a hormone dump, when our sisters are going through the genomgineered accelerated process of maturation, it doesn’t matter that we’re related to them. Our instincts are such at that age and time in our lives that we would never allow strangers near us at that point, so yes, before we were even teens and old enough to realize it was a social taboo, we fucked each other senseless.”

Caine blinked at the blunt explanation, but stayed silent.

Wolfe nodded and continued. “For lycantants, it’s a bonding process; it’s what makes us a pack. It’s why none of the other packs would have accepted you, not until all parties were mature enough to start seeking mates and that doesn’t happen until we near the end of our second decade of life. Only then can the pack bonds be thinned enough to accept new members.”

“You’re not all siblings.” It wasn’t a question.

“No,” Wolfe answered, a small smile on his face. “Though more than half our number are related in some way, only eleven of us were raised together in the Crèche as siblings.”

“That-” Caine blinked as the connotations of that number struck him. “That is a small litter.”

“Yes, though it was slightly larger when we were born.”

“Thinned?”

Wolfe grimaced again before giving a wry smile. “We don’t continue to have sex with our siblings for the rest of our lives.”

Caine took a moment to parse that information before his eyes widened in understanding. “Just until they take mates?”

“Safer that way,” Wolfe shrugged.

Caine wrinkled his nose, less disgusted by the thought than he expected to be. “What about mating?”

“It’s a metaphysical process for us,” Wolfe tilted his head again, as though spotting something curious. “It needs both a culmination of the physical and emotional connection.”

“Emotional culmination?”

“An expression of love which must be returned. Our olfaction is such that we can sense the presence of dopamine and oxytocin, the two most common neurotransmitters present when a person is in love.”

“And the physical?”

Wolfe inhaled deeply before responding in a sigh, “For males, during coitus, we knot our partners.”

Caine closed his eyes and slowly lowered his head. The silence stretched like a taught rubber band.

“Does she treat you well?”

The question made Caine look up. What he saw surprised him. The other man was genuinely worried about him, and Caine knew why. Some Entitled treated splices like the accessories they’d been relegated to and bought for. Caine’s position as lover to an Entitled Queen looked like a precarious one; to be used and discarded at the first sign of impropriety was a common enough theme among splices trained to the pleasure houses.

But Caine wasn’t trained in the pleasure houses, and Jupiter wasn’t traditional anything, let alone an Entitled Queen ready and willing to use and discard someone who had saved her life several times. Caine knew Jupiter cared for him, even loved him, and he also knew that no matter her choices in the future, he would do anything within his power to protect her, even if it meant giving her up.

“You have nothing to be worried about.”

Wolfe blinked and tipped his head. “Don’t I?”

“No,” Caine assured. “Jupiter isn’t like other Entitled.”

“So I’m seeing. But,” Wolfe argued. “That doesn’t mean she won’t eventually be. Tersies – even Entitled tersies – will eventually conform to standard. And I have a right to be suspicious.”

Caine frowned. “What do you mean?”

Wolfe stilled.

When he didn’t answer, it triggered Caine’s hunting instincts and he stepped forward, physically pushing, “What rights do you think you have here?”

Wolfe turned away, his shoulders pulling together in a move that was strangely familiar. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to have to tell you this way, but you’ve a right to know.”

Caine froze even as his thoughts skittered at high speed. Rufus Wolfe’s uncanny knowledge of Caine’s youth, his proprietary manner when addressing Caine, even the way he held himself. Caine stepped forward and gripped the other man’s shoulder, yanking him around until he could meet his eyes; familiar eyes. The same hazel bright eyes Caine saw in the mirror every day.

He took a deep breath in through his nose, dipping forward until his chin nearly brushed Wolfe’s sternum; and the other man let him, where any other lycantant would have taken that move for a threat: going for the throat.

Kaleidoscopic colors combined in Caine’s mind as he sifted through the visual scents offered from the skin of the alpha Legionnaire. A rich bouquet of food, fuel, weapons, metal, leather, sex, sweat and skin were parsed until Caine could get to the subtler undertones of the man’s gene-print. The reddish brown musth of lycantant followed by the meaty yellowed burnt tones of acceptance and the dark blue sweet hues of loyalty bred into their very natures. There, under the green-grey tart splash of alpha and pale smoke male was a familiar filial pinkish bitter scent of sibling.

Wolfe steadied him with a hand beneath his elbow when Caine stumbled back. It explained the pack’s interest in him and Caine’s unreasonable dislike towards the pack; why he’d nearly gone for the Lieutenant’s throat when they first entered the receiving hall onboard the _Isurus_. They stared at each other for a long moment, both vulnerable, hopeful and wary, before Caine wrenched his arm from Wolfe’s grasp and turned for the door.

“Please,” Wolfe started. “Let me explain.”

Caine hesitated. “Why should I?”

“We didn’t know you’d survived. We knew only that our sibling didn’t join us on the planet. We mourned you.”

“Why now?” Caine turned to look at him over his shoulder. “Why bring this to my attention now when over fifty years have passed?”

“We only recently began hearing the exploits of a renowned hunter with the Legion, a lycantant without a pack. We were actually set to meet up with your unit once the _Lobella_ landed on Cancullum VI, but you were unfortunately detained and our meeting postponed.”

 _Detained_ and _postponed_ , as if they’d planned to meet for an afternoon lunch, all the while Caine’s insides lurched from the memories of being on board the _Lobella_ on that fateful day where he learned how tenuous his control was where certain Entitled were concerned. All he could remember from that day nearly fourteen years ago was an overwhelming bloodlust, the salt taste of that man’s flesh, and the sickening satisfaction of tearing out his throat before his conscious mind caught up with his instinctive actions. The looming threat of death caused him to fold up on himself and be found kneeling in the pool of blood surrounding the man he’d just murdered.

He turned for the door.

“Caine-”

“ _What?_ ” he snarled, pushed to his breaking point, wings instinctually unfurling as he showed teeth and turned on Wolfe who raised his hands and turned his head down and away, baring his throat. Caine pulled up at the gesture, both appeased and confused about why the alpha lycantant would submit to a runt; long lost sibling or no. “What do you want from me?” he asked, remembering the beginning of their conversation.

Wolfe frowned, as though disappointed. “We are loyal to our new Queen until death or dishonor. But remember this: we came here for you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got away from me a bit, and I know you won't believe me when I say that I meant for almost none of this to happen in this chapter. Felt like Caine had a mind of his own and the will to make it happen this time. I argued long and hard (no pun intended) with him about the scene with Rufus. Who incidentally looks like Eduardo Verastegui in [this picture](http://ilarge.lisimg.com/image/1927659/968full-eduardo-ver%C3%A1stegui.jpg).


	16. Event Horizon: Part IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go a bit fast in this one but bear with me, we're nearing the end of an arc.

Instead of heading directly back to his Queen, Caine found himself stopping outside a particular door in the barracks one floor above the security rooms. Here, the scent of the lycantants was much stronger and Caine found himself breathing deeply in order to reassure himself that yes, these were his littermates, Rufus hadn’t lied for whatever reason. But he couldn’t imagine why the others had come for him now, when he no longer needed them, when he no longer _wanted_ them. He had Jupiter, and he needed no more than her.

But she needed more than just him.

Taking a deep breath, Caine tapped an enter code into the door module and waited. He didn’t have to wait long, but the moment he stepped into the room, he nearly stepped back out. He tried to breathe through his mouth, but that only turned the scents into tastes and he didn’t know which was worse. “What is that smell?”

There was a harsh chuckle from the corner, and Caine turned to see the room’s only occupant sitting much like he’d found Jupiter that one time aboard Captain Tsing’s _Leucas_ , tucked with his back against a wall and his face pointed out the window, or porthole in this case. Vladimir Bolotnikov looked healthy, but not clean. The clothes he wore were wrinkled and at least two days old, his skin was oily, his hair greasy, and his beard was coming in nicely. There was a small pile of dirty clothes and refuse against the far wall and it was there the smell originated.

“Come to gawk at the tersie?”

Cain wrinkled his nose the oversweet food rot and the pervading stench of sweat and unclean skin. “I see Stinger has given you the ‘welcome to the universe, you’re not the center of it’ speech.”

Vladie snorted, “Is there actually a class you take to give that speech?”

Caine didn’t bother to answer the obvious. “Why haven’t you showered? Or cleaned up after yourself? Have the servitants not come to take your plates?”

Vladie snorted again. “They came, I kicked them out.”

“You enjoy this stench, then?”

“Why do you care?” Vladie tossed Caine a dark look before doing a double-take. “Aren’t you the boyfriend?”

Caine tilted his head and answered both questions at once, “I am in a romantic relationship with Jupiter.” Not that Vladie seemed to understand that his answer was both reason and affirmation. “And you’re never going to be let out of here if you don’t start acting like you want to be a part of this.”

“Let out of this jail cell, you mean? Do I get-”

Caine’s harsh laugh interrupted him. “This isn’t a jail cell, Vladie. These are the command barracks, and quite a nice one. You have a window.” He nodded toward the porthole that looked into the center tank. “As a Legionnaire, any rack time was on a cot in the main barracks, stacked three beds high, nearly ten beds across and at least three rows deep. It wasn’t until I became a Skyjacker seven years later that I got quartered with only two or three others. I spent the better part of two decades sharing rooms smaller than this one. The last three years as Stinger’s Lieutenant was the only time I had private quarters, and those still were not as nice as this one is.”

“Yeah right,” Vladie sulked.

Caine straightened. “Come with me.” When the boy (and Caine was quickly realizing that he was _just_ a boy, despite his relative age and supposed maturity) didn’t respond quickly enough, Caine gave him no choice. He reached forward and, ignoring the boy’s startled squawk, hauled him upright and out of the room. While he hauled him down the corridor to the service stairs, Vladie complained. Loudly. The noise garnered attention, bringing people out of their rooms to watch. Caine did his level best to ignore their amused stares.

“Teaching the whelp a lesson?”

One sniff was enough to tell Caine that the slim brunette who joined them in the hall was another one of his littermates. From the way she carried herself, and the way the others obviously deferred to her, Caine could guess that this was Rani, Rufus’ Second.

“Showing the whelp some bitter truths,” Caine expounded as he tossed Vladie into the stairwell with a startled yelp and stalked after him.

When Vladie would have attempted to run, Rani stepped into his way, effectively corralling the young man so Caine didn’t have to chase after him. “Can we help?”

“You can watch,” Caine smirked, checking over his shoulder and finding several more lycantants and even some Skyjackers crowded into the doorway. As though his words released them, they spilled into the stairwell after him with a laughing whoop. Rani followed at a discreet distance, keeping the other lycantants back with a look, sensing Caine’s discomfort with them at his back.

Perrin had no such hang-ups and crowded against Caine’s shoulder, causing Vladie to stumble. “Can I do it?”

“Bloodthirsty thing,” Caine murmured, secretly pleased when her gleaming grin caused Vladie to startle. “Didn’t you get yours knocking him out the first time?”

Vladie grumbled. “She wouldn’t have been able to knock me out if she hadn’t hit me from behind.”

Perrin snorted.

Caine just shoved him through the door onto the security level. “Even injured, ill, and at her weakest, Perrin would still be able to take you down easy. She’s falcon-splice, trained for war, and the fastest person on wings I’ve ever seen.”

Vladie opened his mouth to argue, even as he fetched up against the wall, but he didn’t get the chance as Perrin slipped by Caine, fast even on her feet, and was suddenly in front of the younger man. He froze as she leaned in close, her hands curling over his neck and throat like a lover, her lips a breath away from his ear as she whispered so quietly even Caine only caught a word or two. Whatever she was saying, it was effective. The boy turned fish-belly white.

Caine crossed his arms and waited. Down the hall, Rufus came out of the security office, no doubt having seen them coming on the monitor. Behind him, Rani draped herself across the doorway, blocking the others and keeping them from crowding the hallway. When she tried to block Hone, the badger-splice merely shuffled his bat wings at her, bodily lifted her out of the way, to Rani’s apparent delight, and stepped into the hall to clap Caine on the shoulder.

“Stinger commed me. There was an alert on the boy’s door.”

Caine hid his wince. “Where is he?”

“Dealing with another shipment in the landing bay.”

“Shouldn’t you be helping him, then?”

“He has Serio and Metis,” he replied calmly before flicking up a brow. “Sir.”

“Still in contact?” At Hone’s nod, Caine sighed. “Let him know I’ll explain later.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Caine briefly wondered at the overly formal reply before he caught sight of Rani and Rufus exchanging looks and decided that was cause enough. He gave Hone a slight nod of appreciation. Hone smirked and turned his attention back to Perrin, who was calmly helping a docile Vladie to stand upright.

“Do I want to know?”

Perrin tipped her chin up. “No, Sir.”

Caine huffed a breath and tilted his chin. “To holding, then.”

Hone led the way down the hall toward the center, followed by Perrin who kept a gentle hand on Vladie’s elbow. As he passed the security office, Rufus fell into step with Caine. “Are we putting the Queen’s cousin in a cell now?”

Caine didn’t look at him, just kept walking, following Hone through the center room around the tank to another hall that led to the secure room furthest from the stairwell. “The Queen’s cousin thought the rooms he was given _were_ his jail cell.”

In front of him, both Hone and Perrin stiffened. In his surprise, Rufus stopped walking and Rani nearly collided with him before he caught back up. “But those are command quarters!”

“I know,” Caine murmured, nodding to Vladie. “And he’ll know soon enough.”

The Holding room was the most secure room in the _alcazar_ , save for the network room in one of the subfloors which housed the _alcazar’s_ core programming. Three inch thick plasteel plating surrounded the room on all sides, the door was autonomously controlled, with each cell door only manually operated from within an exterior control room. The room contained nine subspace holding cells, each accessed through a recessed doorway in the floor that looked like a fancy manhole cover.

Caine stepped forward, took custody of Vladie, and walked him over to the center cell. “Open on one,” He called to Hone who was standing at the ready in the control room. Hone nodded and the floor opened up.

Without another word, Caine shoved Vladie in.

* * *

Jupiter flicked through another sheave, sighing in exasperation at the literal mountains of figurative paperwork required to slog through in order to get anything done. Jake and his team were doing marvelous things, but not quickly enough to suit Jupiter’s mood this morning. She wanted things done, and she wanted them done _now_ and she felt like a spoiled princess for even _thinking_ that but she couldn’t help herself because all she could really think about was Caine’s face when he’d left her that morning to go talk to the other lycantants.

“Majesty,” Amalthea sighed, infinitely patient despite this being the fourth time she’d had to start over again on Jupiter’s hair.

“Sorry,” Jupiter twitched, lifting her head back up and sitting straight so that her stylist could get her hair into some semblance of an aristocratic do.

Beside her chair, Aranea Strand, resettled on a low stool, the long fingers of one her four hands extremely gentle on the inside of Jupiter’s left arm as she took samples of blood and skin in order to do a complete workup on Jupiter’s ideal health and age.

That morning, almost as soon as Jupiter had exited her bedroom level, Maggie had mugged her, along with her daughter Sari, and Adrastea and Amalthea. They’d gone through several outfits and finally settled on what Jupiter was wearing now; an elegant dark red pantsuit with a long jacket in gold brocade. The pants were a soft, stretchy material with a long complicated name that basically meant a refined silk that molded to Jupiter’s skin and maximized comfort by automatically adjusting for temperature. Jupiter could be caught in a blizzard and these pants would keep her warm and dry. Her top was a fitted ruby lace corsolette that cupped and lifted for maximum display and comfort. Jupiter might never take it off; it made her boobs look amazing while feeling like she didn’t have any. She as convinced there was some kind of antigravity in the cups – no other way to get rid of that slight ache between her shoulder blades that any girl with heavy breasts didn’t realize was always there until it was gone. Over that was a tunic vest in deepest black with a fitted torso that displayed her curvy waist and a plunging neckline to reveal the lace of her corsolette. The long over-jacket reminded her of imperial Russia with the stiff collar and the heavy brocade. The soft inner layer was a dark crimson silk that adjusted for her comfort, while the heavy, burnt gold outer layer was a remarkable print of stylized honeycomb with jeweled bees congregating at her shoulders and the occasional drip of honey at the hem defined in warm amber. The collar framed her neck and ears in an ephemeral lace that looked like insect wings.

After being dressed, she tucked herself onto a chaise lounge where Amalthea quickly did her make-up: “You have fine, healthy skin, Your Majesty. We want to show that off, so you only need a bit of gold highlight on your cheeks and kohl on your eyes to emphasize their unusual dual color.” She commented while swiftly applying said products with a deft touch. Then she’d gone on to lament her hair and proceeded to apply all sorts of oils and ‘fixing’ products to bring about a healthy shine. Jupiter refrained from mentioning that she was used to being around bleach and other cleaning products, and what those did for her hair.

While having her hair brushed, Aranea Strand had crept into the room and asked to do a health check. When Jupiter asked why, and Aranea explained it was so she could calculate the correct levels for a recode, Jupiter had hit the ceiling.

“I won’t do it!” Jupiter had shouted at one point.

“You’re being stubborn, Jupiter!” Nino shouted back. “How are you supposed to change things if you get injured and refuse treatment? What happens to the people you’re sworn to protect if you can’t lead them? What happens to the Earth if you die? You have an obligation to all of us and you’re letting your _pride_ get the better of your _mind!_ ”

Jupiter had gaped at her for a moment before taking a look around the room.

Stinger stood tall, his shoulders back and his hands fisted at his sides, but his face, though impassive, was turned to the side like he was expecting a slap. Against the walls were Negi and Kerr, both trying to disappear into the woodwork, their faces blank and turned to the side. Aranea still knelt on the ground by her chaise, her head bowed and her shoulders stiff. And while Adrastea and Amalthea stood quietly, not even breathing, Maggie was shivering, her head bowed and face hidden. But worst of all, little Sari, Maggie’s daughter, was literally cowering behind her mother.

Suddenly flooded with shame, Jupiter turned away, closing her eyes to the collective flinch of her people, to stand in front of the tank to think.

Her people. How could she have forgotten? _Nobelesse oblige_ was a distinctly foreign concept for one raised on the opposite end, and her only exposure to it was that line from _Spiderman_ ; “With great power, comes great responsibility.” It was a hard concept to apply to herself; that on top of being responsible for these peoples’ lives, she was accountable _to_ them. It meant doing her utmost to stay safe. It meant letting her Skyjackers do their job of keeping her safe. It meant listening to Stinger when he suggested something that was for her own good. It meant letting Aranea do her tests so that if Jupiter was injured that they would have some way of saving her, despite her distaste for the process. And it meant taking hundreds of lives so that she could live longer, something she was unwilling to do because she inherently didn’t think her life was worth more than anyone else’s.

The silence in the room was suffocating, but Jupiter had no intention of breaking it until she’d thought everything through to her satisfaction. The problem was her thoughts were just going around in circles. So when Aleska stepped up silently beside her, Jupiter stiffened, but didn’t move away.

“I’ve made mistakes,” Aleska began quietly after a few moments. “I’m not proud of the way I’ve handled this; you becoming a Queen. It hasn’t been easy reconciling the fact that you now own the Earth and everyone on it, including me.”

“Mama-”

“Please, my Jupiter. Let me finish.”

Jupiter shut her mouth and turned back to the tank with a short nod.

Aleska smiled before turning to look at the tank with a frown. “I haven’t been the best mother to you recently.”

Jupiter bit her lip, afraid to say anything because she agreed.

Aleska nodded as though she heard. “I’m sorry I’ve failed you. I’ll try to do better in the future.” Aleska shook her head and looked down. “I think we both need to do better in the future. But in this, I think you have little choice. To quote a television show I watched recently; ‘Monarchy is a sacred mission to grace and dignify the earth. To give ordinary people an ideal to strive for, an example of nobility and a duty to raise those around you. It’s why you are anointed and not appointed.’ You, of all people, would know what it’s like to want something better for yourself.”

Jupiter blinked back tears.

“Their hopes and dreams rest upon your shoulders, my Jupiter. They rest there because you chose to carry them,” Aleska murmured. “And you deny them the chance for better if you deny yourself the _time_ you need to change things.”

“It’s disgusting,” Jupiter spat.

“I know,” Aleska sighed.

“I’m not worth _one_ of their lives, let alone _hundreds_ of them.”

“I think that’s up to them to decide.”

“That’s the problem!” Jupiter snarled. “ _They_ aren’t deciding! They don’t have a choice – they don’t _even know!_ ”

“I know,” Aleska repeated. “So change it.”

“I _plan_ to!”

“Then what’s the problem?”

That brought Jupiter up short. “What?”

“If you’re going to change things, where’s the harm in letting your people care for you however they can?”

She stared at her mother, opened her mouth. Then closed it again. When she turned to face the tank again she didn’t see the wink Aleska gave Nino over her shoulder. It was a full minute before Jupiter huffed a short laugh.

“Oh, you’re _evil_.”

“No, _dorogaya_ , I’m _wise_ ,” Aleska patted Jupiter’s shoulder. “It comes with age.”

“Oh, ha, ha,” Jupiter snarked. “See, that’s funny, because we’re talking about using or not using a juice made from people used to make other people immortal.”

Aleska snorted.

It took an hour – and the intervention of Stinger – to reassure Aranea that no, she wasn’t going to be punished, to talk about the subject of Recode, how the juice was made, why Jupiter had such an aversion to it, and why it was necessary for Jupiter to be prepared to use it anyway, especially if she wanted to be around long enough to change things.

In that time, Nino had breakfast brought in to settle everyone’s nerves. While eating, Jupiter apologized for her outburst, and even promised little Sari that she could help pick out her outfit for Kalique’s Ascension Ceremony in an effort to get the girl to relax again in her presence. Stinger just shrugged and let it roll of his shoulders. Kerr and Negi both settled back into the status quo with little to no ripples. The two synthetics acted as though nothing had happened and even Maggie gave a tremulous smile and when back to work, business as usual.

After the light meal of bubbling sweet teas, dripping tarts and glittering pastries, Nino left to continue her studies, followed by Aleska who gave Jupiter a warm smile and patted her cheek when Jupiter reached out for her hand, Stinger dismissed himself to take care of a delivery in the landing bay, and Jupiter dismissed everyone else but her skyjacker guard, Amalthea so that she could finish Jupiter’s hair, and Aranea.

The spider-splice took her time settling on the stool, and Jupiter let her. It was several minutes before frightened splice took a back seat to the medical professional, and Aranea reached for her scanners to begin taking biometrics. It was another minute before she spoke.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Aranea stuttered to a stop when Jupiter’s gaze turned to her. “I’ll try not to upset you further.”

It was a weight on Jupiter’s heart that these people thought a violent outburst and being held accountable for someone else’s thoughts and feelings was normal. It made Jupiter feel incredibly guilty and vow to herself to not do it again.

Moving slowly, Jupiter gently placed her hand over one of Aranea’s. The spider-splice froze.

“No, Aranea. I’m sorry,” Jupiter could feel her throat tighten as Aranea’s frightened look melted into confusion. “You are not to blame for my emotional outburst. I, and I alone, am responsible for my own reactions and I never want you to feel threatened in my household. Can you forgive me?”

Aranea gaped before swallowing convulsively. She nodded, blinking her many eyes and looking down.

“Also,” Jupiter turned, giving the doctor a sideways look. “I think I’m a little hurt. Can we agree that I am not like other Entitled and shouldn’t be painted with the same brush as them?”

“Majesty?” Aranea frowned. “I- I don’t… understand?”

“Have I ever hit you?”

“No.”

Jupiter tipped her head back and addressed her Skyjackers. “Have I ever hit anyone, Kerr? Negi?”

“No,” Negi mouthed, shaking his head.

“Only Caine,” Kerr chimed in, a smirk playing on her mouth. “And only when he deserved it.”

“Yes, well,” Jupiter cleared her throat. “Have I ever punished anyone?”

“Technically, you got Rain Bow fired and nearly retrained as a masseuse.” Kerr tapped a finger to her chin, ignoring the glare Jupiter was leveling in her direction. “That’s sort of punishment.”

“You’re not helping.”

“And you yelled at Stinger when he tried to make a decision for you.”

“Kerr.”

“And you put your cousin in confinement for putting himself in danger while causing criminals to extort you for money because he couldn’t control his gambling addiction.” Negi, intercepting Jupiter’s pleading look, calmly threw a knife directly at Kerr’s mouth. She twisted, catching the blade in between the fingers of one hand before settling on the floor with her legs kicked up onto the wall. “I think that counts as trying to get me to shut up,” Kerr cheekily finished.

“The point,” Jupiter huffed a laugh and turned back to Aranea, secretly pleased to note that she looked intrigued by the interactions of her Skyjackers. So, okay. Maybe Kerr was helping after all. “Is that I’m not about to punish _you_ for _my_ actions. So I’m asking for the benefit of the doubt.”

“Majesty?”

“Please, can you not expect the worst of me?”

Aranea blinked her many eyes, as though startled.

Jupiter sighed and tipped her head back, eyes closed. “Of all the mistakes I’m likely to make – and I’m sure I’ll make quite a few – taking your lives, _all_ of your lives, for granted… is not one of them.”

The silence after was respectful, but oddly made Jupiter uncomfortable until a slender hand wrapped around her wrist and began taking her pulse. When Jupiter looked down at her doctor, Aranea had a small smile. Jupiter settled back into the settle, tipping her head forward when Amalthea started again on her hair. After a few minutes of letting them work, she noticed a pile of sheaves lying on the nearby table and reached for one.

“Majesty,” Amalthea sighed. “Please don’t move.”

“Sorry,” Jupiter mumbled, already distracted by what was on the sheave.

Nearly an hour had passed before the door opened to reveal Caine. Jupiter looked up with a smile before freezing at the look on Caine’s face.

“Amalthea,” Jupiter addressed the synthetic still putting the final touches on her hair behind her. Aranea had finished her scans and tests a while ago and had left, so it was just the stylist and the two Skyjackers in the room with her.

“Yes, Majesty?”

“Finish quickly, please.”

“Yes, Majesty.” There was a flurry of small, precise movements only a synthetic could accomplish before Amalthea stepped back. “Finished, Majesty.”

“Thank you,” Jupiter straightened in her seat, aware that both Kerr and Negi had come alert at her tone and were casting curious and worried glances between her and Caine. “Leave us now, all of you, please.” She added when she noticed Kerr opening her mouth to argue.

Caine didn’t move from his position beside the entrance nor look up from his perusal of the floor until the door slid closed behind a carefully silent Negi. As soon as he looked up and met Jupiter’s gaze, a low whine escaped his throat at the worry on her face. Worry for him. She started to get up, but he crossed the space between them at a near run and sank to his knees in front of her, burying his face in her belly and wrapping his arms around her hips.

“Caine,” Jupiter curled around him, her knees gripping the barrel of his chest and her arms around his shoulders, one hand buried in his hair, the other clutching the anchor of his wing to pull him closer. When that didn’t seem to be enough, she kicked off her gold slippers and hooked her heels behind his hips, tucking him nearly under her as she sat at the edge of the settee. “What’s wrong?”

Caine shook his head, burying his face in the crook of her hip and inhaling the scent of her.

“You gotta talk to me, Caine.” She bent over him so she could dot his nape with gentle kisses. When his shirt got in the way, she went for the seams. The weirdly magnetic snaps on all of the Legionnaire clothing were nearly indestructible, but one gentle nudge of a fingertip and they nearly fell away. The touch of skin seemed to calm him as nothing else could. His arms weren’t as tight around her hips and his breathing wasn’t hitching with that frightening catch anymore. “Caine.” Her voice this time was steady, calm. “What happened? Didn’t Lieutenant Wolfe give you answers?”

Caine’s head came up. “Yes, he answered some questions and gave me a bit more, besides.”

“What does that mean?” Jupiter cupped his chin, making sure Caine wouldn’t burrow in her lap to hid again. “You’re kind of scaring me, here.”

“I’m sorry, Majesty,” Caine shook his head and made to pull away, but when Jupiter clutched at his shoulders, he gave her a gentle smile and settled on his heels, leaving his arms to frame her thighs. “It’s just a bit more than I expected. A lot more, actually.”

“What is?”

He looked up and met her eyes. “Wolfe and the rest of them are my littermates.”

“Oh, wow.” Jupiter sucked in a breath as that struck her. Then she frowned, “Wait, I thought you said there was only twelve in your litter? How can they-?”

“They’ve grown some,” Caine interrupted wryly, accepting her finger flicking his ear for the admonishment about interruption that it was.

Jupiter looked at him like he was crazy. “Caine, you don’t ‘grow some’ by literally multiplying. There’s twenty-four of them. Unless you copy yourself at some point? Which, I admit, might be cool.”

He huffed a laugh. “They allowed others to join their pack by mating.”

“Well, that’s-” Jupiter bit her lip and then eyed Caine as she thought about the implications. “That’s just rude. They wouldn’t let you join as a cub but they’ll let anybody else join as long as they mate someone already in their pack?”

“Cub?” Caine tipped his head, a wry smile on his lips as he stared at her in wonder.

“Oh, shut up.” Jupiter laughed. “You know what I meant. They’re _dumb_ if they couldn’t see how amazing you were going to be, even as a kid. They don’t deserve you now.”

“I think I accidently mated with you,” Caine blurted.

Jupiter gasped, swallowing the words she was going to say as all thought vaporized from her mind. Caine stared up at her with wide eyes, heart in his throat, so scared that he wanted to make a run for the door and never come back. And his treacherous heart swelled when she clutched his shoulders and tightened her legs around him to keep him there. A tiny anchor of uncommon strength of will and devotion determined to keep Caine.

“I figured as much,” Jupiter said gently, and then she smiled, so happy and serene it took Caine’s breath away.

There were so many things Caine needed to say, to point out. So many things that were wrong with mating an Entitled Queen in the first place, let alone without her permission. It wasn’t anything new, anything they hadn’t already discussed, _argued_ about. But he couldn’t bring himself to say a word to make her smile go away. Her happiness was a balm to his soul and he wanted to bask in it for a time without the pressures and expectations of the outside world to sour it.

“What else did Lieutenant Wolfe say?”

So, keeping his hands on her hips and his head in her lap, Caine told her about his morning.

* * *

“ _What_ did you do with my cousin?” Jupiter asked much later.

Caine groaned and let himself melt out of her arms and onto the floor.

* * *

_Caine stepped forward, took custody of Vladie, and walked him over to the center cell. “Open on one,” He called to Hone who was standing at the ready in the control room. Hone nodded and the floor opened up._

_Without another word, Caine shoved Vladie in._

As the bars closed over Vladie’s frightened shout, Caine knelt, bracing one fist on the floor as he bent over the opening so that he could see the boy and the boy could see him.

“This is a prison cell, Vladie.”

“Yeah, great! Now get me out of here!”

Caine ignored him. “You know, I spent nearly nine months in one of these?” He ignored the startled gasps behind him and the way Perrin froze at his elbow. “Nine months in an oubliette, never knowing if the next time I came out would be for my execution. I’d already been clipped of my wings and thrown in without any med-aid. They fed me through a tube pushed through the grate twice a day. That hole between your feet? That’s where you shit and piss the few times your body could get up the need to.

“Mostly, I spent those nine months wondering why I’d done what I’d done, never really knowing, never being told what was going on. Nine months in a hole without human contact. And you know, when I got out? When they took me out and paraded me in front of the Legion Council to hear my sentence, I was as crazy as they accused me of being. Because I _missed_ it.” He leaned further forward, using his wings to block out the sight of his fellow Legionnaires as he told the Queen’s cousin something he’d never told another soul. “I wanted to go back in; I didn’t feel safe outside. The light hurt my eyes, I shied away from touch, having grown used to going without it. And then they told me I was being sentenced to live out the remainder of my life without the chance of escape on a prison planet called the Dead Lands. A planet that was gravity locked so that one side was in constant darkness, and the other in constant light. A desert wasteland with no walls, and they dropped me in the middle of the light-side, after nine months of being held in the dark.

“I think they were hoping it would kill me.” He had Vladie’s attention now. He had everyone’s attention if the way their hearts were pounding in his ears and their breath frozen in their throats were any indication. “I think _I_ was hoping it would kill me. But I spent days stumbling, sun-blind, until I found a crevice in the rock and crawled in.”

“Why- uh,” Vladie licked his lips, swallowed. “Why didn’t you die?”

Caine cocked his head. “Lycantants are very hard to kill; we’re genomgineered that way. It would take weeks for us to starve to death.”

“That sucks,” Vladie offered.

“Yes,” Caine chuckled, unsurprised at how the action _hurt_. “Yes, it does.”

“How long were you on that planet?”

“Thirteen years.”

“Man,” Vladie spat, disgust on every line of his face. “And you got out ‘cuz my cousin’s genetic offspring wanted you to track her down? And what? Kill her? That’s sick, man.”

Caine smirked down at him. “And still she gave me a pardon and then a home. Any of this adding up for you?”

Vladie stared up at him, a frown on his face. “Are you going to make me stay down here nine months?”

“Depends,” Caine shrugged and stood, subtly glancing around to take measure of the reactions around him. Perrin had stepped closer, her shoulder brushing his in solidarity. In the control room, Hone looked sad, but proud. Rufus, Rani and the others he could see looked in awe and it made him weirdly uncomfortable. But not a trace of pity to be found, and Caine could only be grateful.

“Depends on what?” Vladie pouted.

“On the choice you make next.”

* * *

Jupiter stilled when Caine finished his story. Without being told, she knew exactly what choice her cousin would have to make. Whether he wanted to become a part of this new world, or whether he wanted to go back to his old one. It was a conversation she didn’t particularly want to have, but knew she couldn’t put off forever.

“I can’t believe you pushed him in.”

Caine smirked, sitting up and tucking some of the cushions she’d pulled off her couch behind his head so that he could see her expression. “I actually enjoyed that.”

Jupiter snorted, turning her face into his chest where she lay beside him. Her heart hurt at some of the details, and she was ever ready and willing to tear apart the Legion Council with her _fingernails_ should she ever come across them, but she stayed quiet, knowing he wouldn’t want to repeat this story again, even if he would for her.

“Maybe it was a mistake,” Jupiter pondered, curling her hand into the fabric of Caine’s uniform shirt and smiling when he covered her hand with his, lacing their fingers together. “Giving him the choice at all. My mother and aunt were one thing, but Vladie?”

Caine hummed and pulled her hand up to his mouth so that he could lay soft kisses on each of her fingers.

“You think I should,” Jupiter twisted in his arms until she could see his face. “I should give him the choice because that’s what I’m fighting for? To give everyone a choice?”

He didn’t say anything, just raised a brow at her.

She huffed at him before burying her face in his chest with a groan. “Stupid morals.”

Caine laughed at her.

* * *

That afternoon saw preparations underway for Jupiter and her Household to leave Callisto and head toward Ores for the Ascension Ceremony. They planned to actually take the _Isurus_ to the planet Ardentis, which was in the same system, and use that as their base as long as the assessment of the _alcazar_ deemed living there acceptable. During the ceremony itself, they would actually take up residence on the Imperial Moon, having been given an _alcazar_ commensurate with her standing close to the Imperial Palace. From Jai Malcuthe, she’d learned that the Ascension Ceremony wasn’t specifically for Kalique – no Family, House or Dynasty was that important except the Imperial one – it was actually for all those that advanced to the Head of House between Sessions of the Nakshatra. The ceremony just so happened to be held only a few months after the incidents involving Jupiter and Seraphi’s children.

From the tales Jai Malcuthe told of the Ceremony, she was expecting some glitzy-glam thing beyond anything she’d ever watched on television. Kiza gushed about being able to watch the last one on the FTL machine. The things she kept saying were starting to make Jupiter nervous. Thousands of people watching? An entire series about what the Entitled wore and why and what it all meant to their standing government. It was dizzying and Jupiter didn’t want to think about it more than necessary, so she left preparations to Stella and pretended nothing else was happening.

The looks from her aunt and mother reminded her that it wasn’t a mature thing to do, but at this point Jupiter was becoming so overwhelmed that she didn’t really care. Not at this point, not when she had so many others things going on that were infinitely more important than her genetic daughter’s Ascension Ceremony and kowtowing to the social pressures of the Entitled elite, all while making sure that her hold over what few properties and commodities ceded to her from Seraphi’s Will and Balem’s estate were secure and her claim to them impeachable. The hour before dinner was spent alone with Jake, just reading, comprehending the legalese, and pressing her signet to multiple sheaves in order to process claims, secure certain financial interests, and set a number of other things in motion.

“I assure you, Majesty, the number of sheaves needing your approval will taper off a bit.” Jake soothed when Jupiter complained of getting carpal tunnel in her wrists. And then explained to him what carpal tunnel was. “It’s because your Household is a new one that there’s such a large amount of legal contracts and proprietary stipulations to go through. After a few weeks, we can move these meetings to by-weekly, and then eventually, only monthly.”

“Oh, Thank God,” Jupiter slumped onto the table to bury her head in her arms. After a quiet minute, she popped back up, a look of consternation on her face. “I didn’t mean that I don’t enjoy your presence…”

Jake gave a stiff smile. “Of course, Majesty. I understand.”

“Do you?”

“Very few actually enjoy slogging through the logic of legal syntax, let alone doing it for hours upon hours a day for the whole of our lives. I find myself always in demand because I actually enjoy my job.”

Jupiter gave him a sweet smile as she stood. “I’m so glad you do, too.” Then she kissed his cheek and swept out of the room, not noticing the startled look on his face, nor the shaking of his hand as he reached up and touched his fingertips to the spot she just kissed.

Dinner, as it had been for the last week, was a fashion show of uniforms and outfits designed by Maggie to the raging approval of her contemporaries. Jupiter wanted a dress uniform for all and, according to Jai Malcuthe, formal wear for dinner parties and ceremonial wear, but she didn’t care what they wore for everyday, which was a novelty for most splices who’d had every moment of their lives decided for them. Expressing themselves was a new, and apparently, very flamboyant affair. Despite Malcuthe saying in hard tones that the reasons splice didn’t choose what to wear was because they had atrocious taste unless trained otherwise, Jupiter’s people were slowly moving away from the eye-searing colors and the brow-lifting designs and settling into clothing much like their uniforms; understated with personal touches, comfortable, clean-cut with a Slavic touch that only someone from earth would recognize. All with her bee motif subtly in the design.

This dinner was especially touching for Jupiter, because it was the first time this week her cousin had asked to join them. Vlad spent the evening on the far side of the table with a doting aunt and her gracious mother, which didn’t really bother her as Jupiter was completely entertained by Caine, Kiza and Kerr, Serio and Maggie and her children, all inundating her with questions about her opinions and giving stories about their time serving others.

But all night long, Vladie kept giving Jupiter looks, and she couldn’t parse their meaning, couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell her with the puppy eyes and the witless pouts. It was unnerving and, if she was being honest with herself, slightly annoying.

It wasn’t until much later in the evening, after she and Caine retired to her personal rooms to read (her) and skim the FTLs for news updates (him), that there was a light chime from Cal.

“ _Pardon, Lady Jupe, but your cousin is requesting to enter your personal floors._ ”

Jupiter straighten from her slouch, dropping the sheave she’d been reading before glancing at Caine. He’d automatically waved a hand to pause the feeds, and turned to look at her, a brow raised and a corner of his mouth quirked up. She was distracted by the amount of his skin on display, and from his widening grin, he knew it.

“Clothes,” Jupiter muttered and jumped up from the couch to Caine’s huffing laughter. She found her robe while Caine slipped a long sleeve, open-back shirt over his head. It was a soft jersey cotton-knit in dark green; something she’d bought for him while still on earth. Technically, it was a woman’s extra-large, designed to show off the lower back, but it was perfect for a Skyjacker’s wings.

“Cal,” Jupiter called once they were suitably dressed. “Let him in, please.”

“ _Yes, Lady Jupe_.”

After a minute, the far door slid open and her cousin wandered in, looking dumbfounded by the sheer luxury around him. “Jupe! Have you seen this place? This is ridiculous!”

Jupiter rolled her eyes. “Come to gawk?”

“Dude, I still can’t believe you own all this.” Vladie walked closer, eyeing the blue-flame fireplace like he wanted to stuff it in his pocket. “This is amazing. And I’m told you own the entire earth? How sick is that? You could just walk to any old place and be like: this is mine, this is mine. Oh that? That’s mine, too.”

He was joking. Making light of the situation in order to make himself feel better because he was nervous. Jupiter recognized the behavior from countless hour spent in his company. But something in the way he said it made her hackles rise. When she spoke, it was in a low voice, devoid of emotion. “Is that what you want?”

Beside her, Caine froze.

“What?” Vladie laughed, but it was forced. “Come on, Jupe. You know me.”

“Yes, I do,” Jupiter sighed, sitting back. Her look was resigned, as though she’d finally given up on him. “So what do you want? Money? Your debt to the mob’s been paid, so you don’t need to worry about that. I’ll pay off your credit cards and set you up with a line of credit to do whatever you want. A house? You can choose one of the apartments in the building I own. Keep it, sell it, up to you. I’ll tell Tweak to set you up. Give them standing orders to make sure you get whatever you need.”

Vladie’s face lit up when she started talking but then he slowly began to frown as what she was saying sank in. she was giving him whatever he wanted because that’s what she thought would make him happy. “What’s the catch?”

Jupiter sucked in a laugh that sounded more like a sob. “No catch. The money’s yours, free and clear. You won’t have to worry about a thing for the rest of your life.”

Caine turned from staring warily at Jupiter to glaring at Vladie.

“Yeah?” Vladie asked. “Then why’s you boy-guard looking like he wants to take a chunk out of me?”

Jupiter stood and started to walk away. “It doesn’t matter. He won’t hurt you.”

“Jupe!” Vladie jumped up after her, grabbing her arm and then whipping his hand away like he’d been burned when Caine’s growl caused every nerve in his body to go taut. “Jupe. I don’t get it. You’re saying all these amazing things, but it sounds like goodbye.”

“Because it is, Vlad.” This time Vladie was close enough to see that the laugh she gave really was choked with the tears in her eyes. “You think I can let you run around on earth with all that money _and_ the memory of all this? You’d put yourself in danger in less than a week.”

“I wouldn’t do-”

“You forget, Vlad.” Jupiter took a step forward, forcing her cousin back as she stuck a finger in his face to emphasize her point. “I _know_ you, remember? The first time you get drunk around all your ‘important’ and ‘dangerous’ friends you’ll brag about all your new money. You’ll attract the _wrong_ kind of attention because you don’t know any better. You don’t _want_ to know any better.”

“That’s not fair.”

Jupiter broke into hysterical laughter, and this time Vladie noticed the way Caine flinched. “Fair. Do you think any of this is _fair?_ Is it fair that by some genetic quirk I am now rich beyond my wildest dreams with more money than I know what to do with while the people I’m growing to love and consider family are basically slaves? Is it fair that I was nearly killed by a crazy man all because I refused to give him back ownership of a planet of people who could care less about me as long as I cleaned their toilets and stayed in the background? Is it fair that I got embroiled in basically the galaxy’s largest sibling rivalry, all because that same genetic quirk said I was their mother reborn? Was it fair to ask me to harvest my eggs for one of your get rich quick schemes? But I did it-” Her voice broke and the tears spilled down her cheeks unchecked. “I did because I didn’t care about the money. I just wanted a telescope. All so I could feel closer to my dead father, who I knew next to nothing about except that he was an astronomer who named me after his favorite planet, when I felt miles from the rest of my family.”

Vladie blinked at her, stunned. “I had no idea that’s why you wanted that thing.”

“Of course not,” Jupiter hiccupped. “None of you asked. And the few times I tried to bring up the subject I was told to be quiet. To let it go. To forget about it. So I stopped bringing it up.”

Vladie took a tentative step toward her. “So what you’re saying is you need Vladie in your life, ‘cuz who else are you gonna vent to, huh Jupe?”

Jupiter stared for a solid, silent twenty seconds before turning, calmly grabbing the nearest object, and _hurling it at his head_. “You _asshole!_ ” she shrieked.

Caine leapt to his feet as she screamed profanities and continued to throw things at her cousin while said cousin laughed and dodged them like he was used to this. He was unsure if he should intervene and just who needed his protection more. He’d never had siblings growing up, but if this is what came of it he wasn’t too keen to get to know the ones he had now.

Several vases shattered after ricocheting off a chair. A cup bounced off the sofa and spun to land somewhere under the bed with a chiming sound. Something that looked like a flower statue dented the floor with a metallic screech. It wasn’t until one of the items Jupiter threw actually hit flesh and Vladie gave a pained yelp that Caine stepped in and wrapped his arms around Jupiter, lifting her off her feet and turning her so that she could no longer see her cousin. She didn’t fight him so much as wriggle in his arms so that she could continue to shoot glares over his shoulders.

“You’re dead! You hear me, Vladimir? Dead!”

Caine rolled his eyes as Vladie made a strategic retreat with a wide grin on his face. Even the lycantant could tell that she was softening toward the boy.

* * *

The next morning everything was a riot of movement as things were packed and prepared, closed and readied for departure. Breakfast was a buffet-type affair with people moving in an out of the dining hall while working.

From her office, Jupiter felt like an army general giving marching orders as one person after the next came up and asked permission, for a signature, her opinion, or whether or not she wanted a duplicate to take so that she could leave the original here. She brushed most of the household things off to Sky and everything else she delegated to Stella, Stinger or Karl. The Keepers were the most helpful, oddly enough, as they packed everything Jupiter wanted to bring with her with a ruthless efficiency and without ever having to be asked. It allowed Sky to focus on the _people_ and not worry about the _things_. Most of the staff would be moving with Jupiter to the _Isurus_ and would follow Jupiter wherever her household went; nearly one hundred and fifty people. Only a bare bones staff of secondary humans and synthetics would remain on the Callisto _alcazar_ to await her eventual return.

Before lunch, Jai Malcuthe declined Jupiter’s offer of quarters onboard the _Isurus_ , saying he’d rather stay aboard his own shuttle if Her Majesty would allow his yacht the _Cuculidae_ to dock with one of the larger ships for transport. Considering his yacht was half the size of the Skyjacker’s _Remora_ , Jupiter didn’t have a problem with it if Stinger didn’t, so she shuffled that issue off to him, Captain Tsing and Captain Latrell to see which ship would be housing the yacht for the trip.

After a light meal of fizzy cordials, fruit, charcuterie and glazed tarts, most of the movement shifted from the _alcazar’s_ dock to the cruiser in geosynchronous orbit above the moon.

Once inside the cruiser, Jupiter actually got her first look at the rooms beyond the Receiving Room that were designed for her comfort while aboard. The _Isurus_ was the width of a football field and three times as long. Mostly cargo and engineering, it was originally designed as a warship; intended more for speed and defense than comfort although it had gone through a retrofit between the time of Seraphi last using it and Jupiter inheriting the ship. The blade wings scything from its center formed a ring around the ship’s middle and housed the four engines devised to fire both forward for thrust, and rearwards for retro. Maneuvering thrusters and smaller defensive guns bristled along the neck, tail and spine of the ship.

The central level opened out to space on either side and was what housed the dock and subsequent smaller ships; the two Caravel class transports that looked like sleek kite-winged dragonflies, the six small luxury Cutter-class transports including the _Triakis_ and the _Scyllium_ that they’d used back on earth, and the numerous single-man fighters. The sub levels were mostly cargo, while the rear were battery, engineering and reclamation. In the middle of the ship, carving out a space like a giant diamond through all eighteen levels, were the three enormous fusion reactors that powered the ship and charged the batteries for a hyper-space jump. Central core ran the height of the ship just behind the reactors and housed the shipboard computer and systems, culminating in the command level at the very top. Only the forward levels were crew quarters, about a third the length of the ship, and yet that was enough.

The Receiving Room occupied most of the mid-level bow that wasn’t taken up by the dock, leaving just enough room for private offices and several security rooms along the outer walls. Directly below were permanent crew quarters with supplemental crew on the next level. The next three levels underneath that were for medical, crew entertainment and dining, and personal storage. From the top down were command quarters below the Bridge, and security level under that. Next were quarters for Jupiter’s staff with the smallest being those near the top and the largest ending three levels below directly above the kitchen and entertainment level. Those three levels would be home to her lower household as well as her Legionnaires. The level directly beneath that she gave to Sky, Stella, Jake and her Skyjackers. The next level was comprised guest suites and Jupiter arranged for her family members, which now included Vladie, to decide which of the rooms they wanted for themselves.

The level directly above the Receiving Room were Jupiter’s private quarters; a private receiving room with sweeping gilded arches and hovering chandeliers over plush carpets and welcoming cushions, a large dining room with recessed alcoves and high arched ceilings, a small dining room with pink sandstone pillars and an edible garden growing from the walls, and a study done in rich wood and luxurious silks. These were the four rooms closest to the center of the ship, and the only rooms on her floor that could be accessed from the public section. The remainder of the rooms were private and secure and could only be accessed via Jupiter’s approval through the shipboard computer she was affectionately calling Izzy. There was a lavish bedroom at the very front with panoramic windows and a sunken center that housed an extravagantly large round bed draped with web-like silken lace and warmly lit with floating fire candelabras. The dressing room to the port included a secluded boudoir while the bathing chamber to the starboard boasted a sunken pool that took infinity edges to the extreme with the outside wall being a window into space. Between those chambers and the ones that connected to the rest of the ship was a sweeping sitting room that curved and coiled between the rooms until it seemed to become three rooms all at once; a gently rolling cobblestone garden lit with sunlight glows and divided by a babbling brook and pond full of what looked like koi; a comfortable covered patio that swept under flowering vines that perfume the air and invited those to sit on plush-covered wicker furniture around a cozy pale red glass fire pit; French doors opened into an airy library with a second floor reached only by curving staircase or rolling ladder and populated by cozy settees and cushion-filled reading nooks.

Jupiter knew she would be spending most of her time aboard the _Isurus_ in that changeable room when she wasn’t dealing with everything else.

Before dinner was called, everything was stowed in its proper place and Callisto _alcazar_ was given an official farewell. The Cruiser started maneuvers to port to Ores system with the Aegis Destroyer shadowing after receiving an official port-key from the Imperium allowing for the shipboard computer to do accurate calculations of opening a hyper-port between systems. This trip, unlike the short, two hour one between planets in the same system, would take a little over five hours, the majority of which would be negotiating from the edge of Ores space through untold amount of traffic until they could achieve safe orbit above Ores’ second moon, Máti, the Seat of the Imperium.

Jupiter stood in front of the widow in her new bedroom, the one that looked like if she took another step she’d be floating in space, listening to the sounds of Caine moving around the room behind her. No doubt ensuring her safety. He was a comfort and she didn’t know what she would do without him. She kept wondering how she could be so far from where she’d planned and still find herself exactly where she needed to be.

Once she took this next step, there was no going back. She would be introducing herself to the Imperium and allowing herself to come under the scrutiny of the Nakshatra and the rest of the Entitled that ruled the known universe. It was a daunting prospect that, at times, took Jupiter’s breath away.

“ _Lady Jupe, preparations are complete and only await your command to be underway_.”

Jupiter sucked in a deep breath through her nose, held it for a moment, and then breathed out through her mouth. Strong arms curved gently around her shoulders, pulling lightly for her to lean back against a strong, familiar chest. She twisted so that she could press her forehead against his jaw.

< _I love you, Caine._ >

He sucked in a deep breath, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he did.

“Let’s go, Izzy.”

“ _As you command, Lady Jupe._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you see any mistakes please let me know, I was finishing this one sleep-deprived and stressed out of my gourd. This story has consumed my brain like a zombie, I've got over 100 pages on Word fuck my life.
> 
> Also. In my head, Rani looks like Shay Mitchell in [this picture](http://celebmafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/shay-mitchell-modeliste-magazine-march-2018-issue-22.jpg).


	17. Penumbra: Part I

The story of human history began simply. On a planet the ideal distance from the sun, an apelike creature walked upright and began colonizing. Civilizations rose and fell all while technology grew. Without an outside force to hinder them from growing too quickly, the human race grew to a true space age within just thirty-eight thousand years from the species’ birth. Their piezoelectric technology, based upon the strength and pressure-capacity of crystals, allowed them to record their mistakes perfectly and without the falter of loss from war or the screen of religious input, and there was plenty of both. Once space travel was achieved, and the resources of their solar system available, their science and technology grew in great bounds and humanity spread from their original planet to all the planets in the system and beyond in mere millennia.

Now, more than a billion years after they began exploring their own solar system, they’ve the ability to arrange their home system to their liking, as well as every other system they’ve come into contact with. At the center of the Canaculum System was a pair of spinning stars locked in an eternal dance. In orbit around them, were a great many planets, most of them solid with iron cores, spinning at just the right speed to allow them to be habitable. Situated right in the center of the Goldilocks ring, a mathematically calculable distance that allowed for the possibility of habitation around a star, was strung five planets known as the Pearls of Canacula in a stable orbit-lock around their central stars, and perfectly distanced from each other to prevent their individual planetary gravity from affecting the others.

The second planet in the string was Ardentis, Jupiter’s newest planet, and really, what was Kalique thinking, just _giving_ Jupiter a planet in the home system of these people? If Seraphi hadn’t taken steps thousands of years ago to make sure that no one person could own that particular planet, only act as guardian, and only if they spent a decent amount of time on the surface, Jupiter was sure it never would have been gifted to her.

Fourth was Ores, origin of the human race. Current population holding steady at twenty-one point four billon souls. The entire surface was urbanized until it was one vast city. To Jupiter’s earth-pop-culture saturated eyes, the ecumenopolis looked _a lot_ like the planet Coruscant from _Star Wars_ , complete with great skyscraping pillars climbing to suborbital levels to pinpoint important places, multi-leveled skyways crossing the surface of the planet like veins, and deep, seedy underbelly filled with all manner of people. Hovering in orbit around the planet were several stations and platforms performing various services from repairs to way stations to observations to shopping. Crossing the planet like a giant set of paired belts were station rings, created to help control the flow of traffic to and from the planet, with a constant stream of transports to various points on the surface for travel. The inner ring was designed for private ships and transports, while the larger, outer ring was made for the heavier Aegis and Legionnaire shipyards.

Ores’ first and closest moon, Aftí was Seat of the Nakshatra; a bicameral assembly of the Primes of each Noble House and the senior elect from the Guilds and Ministry, which, together, act as Council and offer a balance of power to the Imperium and Commonwealth. As Jupiter learned in the last week; all bills are debated and voted upon in Nakshatra, and they are the highest court in the Empire, as their decisions are enacted into law. Above its surface were the twin Station Rings that were the Seat of the Commonwealth; an elected body consisting of 2560 members called Ministers representing the necessary conglomerates which operate businesses throughout the gyre, and led by a Prime minister who is appointed by the Emperor, supported by the Commonwealth, and can only be impeached by a two-thirds majority vote of no confidence. Ministers are elected by constituencies and hold these positions until the Commonwealth dissolves at the end of a 7 year term. All legislation must be passed by the Commonwealth to become law, as it controls taxation and the supply of money to the government. There are also mechanisms that allow members of the Commonwealth to bring to the attention of the Imperium particular issues affecting their constituents. It was there, in a tower connecting the twin rings around that moon that Jupiter first encountered the legislature of the Empire in the Hall of Titles.

Ores’ second and smallest moon, Máti was home to the Imperium; the most powerful of all the Dynasties in the Nakahara which consisted of the Caelo Emperors who have ruled the known universe for the last 80 million years by controlling the brutal Sargon horde. Imperial Assent of the Emperor is required for all Bills to become law. The Imperium has executive powers which do not depend on the consent of the Commonwealth or the Nakshatra, among them the ability to make treaties, declare war, award honors, and appoint officers and civil servants. And the Imperium also chooses the Prime Minister from the Commonwealth, who then forms a government from the Ministry.

It was an imperfect but relatively stable form of government that had lasted since the ancient Battle of Brasax which ended the clone plague nearly a billion years ago. Personally, Jupiter wondered if the only reason the government had been stable for so long was because of the sheer amounts of paperwork needed just to slog through the daily grind. Just entering the system produced so much paperwork that the _Isurus_ and the _Leucas_ were literally kept in holding at a thru-station on the Thyamis asteroid belt located at the outer edges of the Pearls of Canacula for nearly an hour before Jupiter’s signet could be verified and the ships were allowed through.

As the _Isurus_ navigated the choked depths above the core worlds, Jupiter reviewed personnel lists for Jai Malcuthe and Stella, who would be taking one of the Caraval class transports down to the surface of Máti to the _alcazar_ the Abrasax family held near the Imperial Palace so that they could ready Jupiter’s wing for occupation. As the Second Prime in the family, she would be given rooms enough to accommodate her entire household, including all her Skyjackers and an entire squadron of Legionnaires. To simplify matters Jupiter left the choosing of those Legionnaires to Stinger and Captain Wen, so she wasn’t as surprised as she should have been to see that they’d chosen only a pair of pilots from under Lieutenant Jeferri Aves’ Sky Squad, and Lieutenant Rufus Wolfe’s lycantants.

All of them.

“This will be fun,” Jupiter muttered.

“Majesty?” Stella cocked her head, not looking up from her own sheaves while she worked.

“Who do you need?” Jupiter asked, hoping to avoid having to explain lycantant posturing to her Steward.

“To start, I want Carme and Pasiphae.”

Jupiter tried her hardest, she really did. “Who?”

“They were in that last batch of approved hires yesterday.” Stella smiled gently. “Think Upstairs/Downstairs. Carme does household under Sky, Pasiphae does people like me. To that end, I’m sure Sky will be taking Themisto and Himalia for you at Ardentis _alcazar_. Themisto has been trained as an Under-Steward like me and works very well with Sky in my place, and Himalia is excellent at organizing households.”

“Oh, Well good, then.”

“I also want Rain with me. She’ll help me set everything up on Máti to your specifications.”

Jupiter blinked. “I have specifications?”

“If you know what’s good for you,” Stella smirked, “You’re a queen, ma’am. And as such you demand a certain amount of deference for those who owe you their livelihoods.”

“And I have people who owe me their livelihoods?” Jupiter smirked back.

Stella nodded. “Several families rely on your continued support. They’re who you’ll be meeting first the day after tomorrow. I’ll have a list with their dossiers prepared for you.”

“Thank you. What’s happening then?”

“A light soiree. Only about three hundred people or so, most of those have very close business ties with the Abrasax family, if not fully invested their entire fortunes and livelihoods.”

“Oh,” Jupiter deadpanned. “No pressure then.”

“Hardly any, ma’am.”

“Kalique will be there?”

Stella nodded. “It will be your first official public appearance even though it is a private get together for the Abrasax and those houses aligned with them. Chances are both Kalique _and_ Titus will be there.”

“Super,” Jupiter hissed out between her teeth. “Who all am I allowed to bring with me? How many well-armed Skyjackers can I have surrounding me at all times?” Jupiter further explained when Stella just blinked at her.

“Oh,” Stella’s confusion turned into amusement. “It’s customary to have one to two handfuls of your household about you at all times. But no more than say… fifteen or you run the risk of insulting your guests.”

“So Caine, Kerr, Negi and Stinger, Amalthea in case something goes wrong with my outfit,” Jupiter started, ticking off her fingers as she went. “My mom, Nino and I’m sure Vladie, although I’ll see about getting Nino to ask him to wait, either Corrine or Aranea, Gemma if Captain Tsing can spare her, Kiza ‘cuz I’m sure she’d kill me otherwise, Jake, maybe Rain, and you, of course. Anyone else you can think of?”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Stella started, when she realized that she was counted among those Jupiter thought of as necessary. “Rain being present during the soiree isn’t necessary if I’m there, and I suggest Corrine over Aranea as ze is a trained Skyjacker and can protect your family should something go awry.”

“Awry,” Jupiter murmured, staring into the middle distance as she remembered everything that had gone ‘awry’ already. “Good point. Alright, done. I’m sending Lieutenant Wolfe and the rest of the lycantants down in the _Remora_ as soon as we reach Máti. You’re taking down the _Tyto_ with Rain, Carme and Pasiphae as soon as we reach geosynchronous orbit above the Abrasax _alcazar_ and I’ll follow you the day after tomorrow as soon as I’ve got everything situated on Ardentis. Is there anything else?”

“That about sums it up, ma’am.”

“Excellent,” Jupiter pressed her signet to the bottom of the sheave to approve the requisition forms Stella was requesting, passed the sheave over and stood. “I’ll see you in two days, then.”

Stella stood and received the sheave with a small curtsey. “Thank you, Majesty.” Then she turned and strode out of the room, already giving Izzy a few quick commands as she left.

Jupiter moved to the side of the study where there was a window showing the surface of the planet. Unlike the surface of Ores which was one giant city, the surface of Máti was a collection of glittering domes covering immaculate gardens and glittering palaces that looked like a combination of the palace at Versailles and the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai. The weird architecture looked like a futuristic Sydney Opera house fit seamlessly in places with ancient medieval castles surrounded by labyrinthian gardens. She felt very strongly that walking around down there would bring home the strangeness of her circumstances far more than anything else she’d encountered so far.

She had a quiet few moments to herself while her people prepared things and she used them to walk through her rooms into her private boudoir where a box was tucked under a shelf that she’d been avoiding for nearly a week.

Seraphi’s Legacy.

The chest was about two feet wide, four feet long and two feet tall. Made out of plas-crete, which Jupiter now knew was a strong fiber-reinforced ceramic polymer that felt like acrylic but had the strength of steel. It could be fashioned to look like just about anything from glass crystals to stone girders. Most of the interior of the ship was made from different forms of it. The chest looked like it was made from wood, with the grains to prove it, but no fire would burn it and it would take something ten times the firepower of Caine’s Mauler to come close to scorching the outside, let alone denting it.

Jupiter pulled it out from under the shelf by its brassy handles, then crossed her legs and sat on the floor in front of it. There was no latch keeping it closed, only a small panel that looked like a key should fit in it, but she knew it was meant for her thumb. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her thumb to the indent and waited.

After a low hum, the box clicked a few times before the lid popped open half an inch. As she lifted the lid, Jupiter got a strong whiff of vanilla and wondered what could possibly be inside. On top was what looked like folds of fabric in oddly iridescent white but as Jupiter reached for it, it reached back.

She froze, profoundly uncomfortable for a second, watching as the fabric subsided with what could only be called a pitiful whimper.

“What,” Jupiter stared, feeling the hairs lift on the back of her neck.

The fabric shivered, moving in soft undulating waves, the iridescence becoming stronger, looking for all the world like an eager puppy afraid of being scolded.

“Seriously. What?” In everything Maggie had shown her during those fashion shows and the meetings were she paraded different fabrics and designs and laces and details, not once had she said, ‘oh, sentient fabric is a thing.’ Jupiter tucked her hands under her thighs and leaned over the open chest for a closer look. The fabric shifted upwards a little to help her better see. Without touching, Jupiter couldn’t really tell, but it looked super soft, and the iridescence becoming stronger again until it was plainly shifting colors, brightening the closer it got to her. “You are weird.”

The fabric shivered happily.

“No really. Like super weird, and I’ve seen some weird things lately, so I would know.”

“I believe it’s called Coelura, but it’s been extinct since before the Great Expansion,” Caine murmured, coming into the room quietly.

Jupiter didn’t jump, but only by a small margin. She knew Caine was the only person besides herself and Stinger who could come into her rooms without her permission, but she thought she’d been alone. “Coelura?”

He nodded. “It was thought to be spun from a unique empathic ovoid lifeform by the same name on a single planet in a neighboring system. That system was wiped out in an incident involving the Sargon after the Clone wars had ended.”

“The Sargon?” She looked up, saw the weariness on his face, and patted the ground beside her.

He happily settled on his haunches next to her and peered into the chest. The cloth didn’t move. “They ate it.”

Jupiter blinked at that. “The planet?”

“The Coelura. Apparently, it was a delicacy to them. The whole incident caused a minor upheaval in the ranks of the Nakshatra when the deCaelo family finally took permanent control over the Sargon Troops after subduing them on that planet. Controlling the Sargon is part of what allowed their House to rise to Imperial rank.”

“Whoa,” Jupiter watched as Caine poked the fabric and… nothing. “Huh.”

“What?”

“Watch,” Jupiter reached in and watched in wonder as the fabric literally became more vibrant and then _reached_ _back_. She didn’t have time to react beyond a startled _yip_ as Caine jerked her hand away from the chest. They both sat there, watching as the fabric seemed to pout and settled back down, becoming a softer shade, iridescence fading.

Caine blinked at it. “Huh.”

Jupiter sniggered.

“That’s more unusual than you believe,” Caine muttered.

“Why?” Jupiter asked, sticking her hand close to watch the fascinating reaction again.

“If I’m remembering my stories right,” he smirked when she snorted. “The Coleura spinning bonded to the first person who wore it; molding and shaping to the desires of the wearer, being both shield and weapon during an attack, and the most comfortable and elegant garment otherwise. To all others the fabric would feel like slightly roughened silk, never fitting quite right or comfortably.”

“Huh,” Jupiter murmured, her eyes still on the colorful fabric as it tried to lift into her hand. “So am I the first person to touch this?”

“Not at all,” Caine intoned, his voice strangely muted. “I’m picking up several layers of scent both old and…ancient.”

“Ancient?” Jupiter straightened, lifting her hand away and ignoring the way the fabric puddled sadly.

“Yes.”

“Caine,” Jupiter whispered, not liking what his expression showed. “What is it?”

He took a deep breath in through his nose, nostril flaring and head tilting as he caught and analyzed the scents coming off the fabric in the way only he could. “It’s you.”

“What?”

“It’s you,” Caine opened his eyes and looked at her. “ _Many_ of you.”

Jupiter blinked at him. “I don’t really…uh.”

Caine grimaced. “It’s hard to explain in a way that you will understand.”

“Try?”

He nodded. “My senses are enhanced to a point where I can sometimes _see_ what I smell.”

“Like synesthesia?”

This time it was Caine’s turn to blink as he thought over the word. Uniquely Earthen with Greek roots, the word was nevertheless derived from the older standard form of communication originally left on the planet by the seeders and translated back through his com-plant into something very like ‘together feeling to perceive’. From the series of synonyms his com-plant was providing, Caine could accurately understand what her word and all the connotations within meant.

“Yes, near enough,” Caine nodded. “I get impressions, sometimes images, but most often _information_. I know the health of whoever I scent, down to their molecules. I can tell what you ate two days ago because the remnants of that meal are still being digested through your system. Who touched you – when and where – and most likely what they were feeling if it was a strong emotion, and that’s just from the pheromones they left on you. I can tell what you’re feeling just by standing in the room with you because of the scent coming off your skin, and,” he leaned forward until his nose brushed against the skin of her cheek. “I can tell when you want me because I can smell your wet heat from between your legs, no matter how many layers Maggie puts you under.”

“Okay, that’s both a little creepy and hella hot,” Jupiter squirmed. “Can you tell what I want right now?”

His grin was wolfish. “Yes.”

“Oh, good,” She whispered before diving forward toward his mouth.

* * *

“So what you’re saying,” Jupiter started, after nearly an hour spent reuniting with Caine on the floor of her boudoir. “Is that I _really_ am Seraphi reincarnated?”

Caine shrugged, the sleepy, self-satisfied expression on his face slowly sharpening as he thought about their previous conversation. “Merely that the fabric smells like you. _Many_ of you.”

“Like more than one?” She propped herself up onto one elbow to better see his face. “Like more than Seraphi?”

He wrinkled his nose, shrugged his wide shoulders and nodded. Sort of.

“That’s helpful. Thank you, Caine.”

He smirked.

Jupiter sat upright, giving Caine a look before scooting over to the chest again. The oddly iridescent fabric lit up, literally, when she came closer. This time, she didn’t hesitate, just reached in for it. Suddenly the fabric was alive with shimmering color, smoothly creeping up her arms and across her shoulders until it draped her more fully and more comfortably than any robe Maggie could have designed. It wrapped down over her naked breasts, nipping in at her waist and snugging about her hips and legs. As she stood with a startled move, color spilled through the fabric and it ceased to cling to her legs, but fell in graceful folds to the floor. Then the color settled into shades of gold with echoes of honeycomb evident in the shadows of each fold.

Jupiter looked down at Caine with wide eyes. “Wow.”

“Wow,” Caine echoed, his eyes wide with childish delight.

Giggling, she spun, reveling in the comfort of the coelura against her bare skin. The fabric responded to her mood by pulsing in golds and blues, shot with crimson reds, breaking into spontaneous patterns as she danced. After a minute, she slowed and settled on the floor beside Caine, in front of the chest. The gown lovingly warmed against her skin and sobered into a soft green color with pale gold hexagonal trim, a shade that illuminated her complexion and complimented her dark hair.

Softly petting the fabric, Jupiter smiled when it gently petted back before turning her attention to the other contents of the chest. On the top were a number of sheaves, all coded to her biometrics when she tried to check them. Most looked like an accounting of all Seraphi’s holdings at the time of her death, everything from the literal Cs’s she had in holdings to her name, the number of planets she possessed, the companies she held stock in, to the number of favors owed to her by very powerful people. Jupiter’s eyes widened when she noticed that most, if not all of those favors, were under actual contract and did not end with her death.

“Uh,” she muttered intelligently when she spotted the names of some of those people, among them the Empress Djinna Aurum of House deCaelo, sole controller of the Sargon Hordes, and seemingly Seraphi’s closest friend and competitor for a number of centuries according to the notes written beside the numerous favors owed between them.

“What is it?” Caine asked from the floor, where he had apparently been playing with a fold of the coelura robe.

Jupiter looked down, caught sight of the way the fabric was flirting with Caine and grinned before simply handing him that sheave to read before digging out another.

“Whoa,” Caine uttered, sitting upright when he spotted what she had.

“Yup,” Jupiter quipped, already lost in another sheave detailing the specifications of the planet Ardentis and _why_ it had been made a sanctuary.

“Did you read that the favor is still owed to you even after death?”

“Yup.”

“But did you read that any favors you may have owed are null after your death?”

Jupiter thought that one over. “Makes sense. The person who owes the favor only owes it so long as they’re alive.”

Caine continued to read, his eyes widening as he got closer to the end. “Some of these favors have been owed since before Seraphi’s birth.”

Jupiter blinked. “Like _she_ was a recurrence?”

“To a Phaedra Yon?”

“Huh, I think Stella has me meeting the Prime of a House Yon at the soirée day after tomorrow. Could be the same people?” She pulled out another sheave detailing a business arrangement between Seraphi and a splicer by the name of Darshina Howland (and why did that name sound familiar?) before revealing that underneath the metallic sheaves were a collection of actual books. Which explained the sweet smell pervading the inside of the chest. Old books have a sweet smell with notes of vanilla and almonds which is caused by the breakdown of the chemical compounds in the paper. That hint of vanilla is because of lignin, which is closely related to vanillin.

Most of the books were thin journals, written inside by hand, and were obviously the originals of the texts on some of the sheaves. Some were encased in a clear plas-crete container, obviously to preserve them. Had they been digitized to save them from age? Most were in a language and script she couldn’t understand, though thanks to her com-plant she could read the translated words. She caught the occasional name and stopped when she came across one that she recognized from an earlier sheave.

“Is there a Shinji Zhao in that favor list?”

Caine looked up at the familiar name before ducking his eyes and scanning the sheave quickly. “Zhao is a fairly common family name among secondary humans,” Caine commented, still scanning until he got near the end. His eyes widened marginally before flicking back up to her. “Yes, it’s here. Three favors owed to her. One notably a life-debt from the Mistress of the Clade, whoever holds that title, and does not end so long as the Splicing Guild exists.”

Jupiter’s eyes widened at that. “That…”

“Is worth quite a lot,” Caine finished for her when it became obvious that she didn’t really comprehend the significance of a life-debt owed by a society of matriarchal genetic manipulators who trafficked in biological products and are responsible for conceiving the Regen-X program. Ruled by the Clade, a council of over seventy ‘Mothers’ who had mastered the secrets of splicing, cloning and encoding the DNA of the human genome, and led by a Mistress who was said to be talented in prophecy. When Caine explained, Jupiter just stared.

“Well, shit.”

Caine snorted, “Well put.”

“No, seriously. _Jesus_ ,” Jupiter looked at the small sheave in Caine’s hands like it was a viper about to bite her. The size of a checkbook, she couldn’t imagine something more dangerous or likely to incite mass hysteria than a collection of favors and life-debts owed from the living Empress to the current Mistress of the Splicing Guild.

Caine just nodded his head and went back to reading.

Like it was no big deal.

“You’d tell me if there was something in there really worrying, right?”

Caine nodded, the corner of his mouth crooking up like he could tell this was worrying her and he thought it was amusing.

“Right,” Jupiter heaved a breath and gently began piling the books to the side, having noticed in her stunned dismay, that they’d still only gotten to the top half of the chest. Under the books were a collection of thin, flexible plaques that looked like 3D pictures. Some were obviously of Seraphi in all her glory. One was of the Abrasax Queen sitting on a grand throne surrounded by her three adult children in full regalia. Underneath that first pile, she found an image of Seraphi holding a cherubic child of three or four years of age. They were cheek to cheek and grinning with joy. Jupiter felt her stomach dip when she recognized the eyes of a young Balem. How could such a happy child have been driven to murder his mother?

“Jupiter?” Caine asked, his voice quiet, having obviously caught the change in her mood.

She didn’t answer, just passed him the image. Which was answer enough with the way he sucked in his breath. She wondered if he recognized the face of the little boy, or if he’d caught the smell of Balem off what was obviously a treasured family token.

Underneath those images were more of Seraphi, but also not. It was obviously her face, Jupiter’s face, but as different from the Queen as Jupiter was from Seraphi. In these images were an entirely different set of backgrounds and accompanying faces. It took a moment for Jupiter to realize that this must be another recurrence. Perhaps Phaedra Yon? She started separating them into piles according to the faces in the images, the similar backgrounds, and the style of clothing worn in each. By the time she reached the bottom of the stack, she had eight piles of six very different women, the last two of which were simple portraits obviously done in some kind of advanced painting technique that looked so lifelike Jupiter just stared, expecting the image to blink. All of them wearing the same face. Her face.

“This is so weird.”

Caine just hummed, having finished reading the Sheave of Favors, capitols intentional, and perusing the images of the second woman who Jupiter was guessing was Phaedra Yon. He plucked one from the pile and studied it for a moment before turning it toward her. “This is Pasiphae Cleta,” he said, pointing at the young woman hugging the older version of herself. “She’s Prime of House Yon now. I recognize her from a protection detail several decades ago.”

Jupiter just nodded before gesturing at the rest. “Recognize any of the others?”

Caine dutifully went through the rest, stopping briefly on a handful of her in a stiff uniform. “This one is dressed like a Matri,” he murmured before moving on. And Jupiter thought ‘Marta’ before shaking her head at herself. He didn’t recognized anyone else, though he pointed out differences in the backgrounds of some significant places, estimating how long ago the images were captured and making Jupiter’s head spin at the sheer history evident before her.

Beneath the images were a trio of slightly thicker plas-crete plaques. Each depicting different scenes of what looked like a ceremony beautifully drawn in finite detail. Two were obviously set in an ancient looking temple, the stone crumbling around the altar and softening the edges of stone. The third looked older and set in the same temple, but in its heyday, remarkably built to godlike heights with incredible precision.

And it was in that third drawing that she saw what she’d first thought were two roughly carved statues standing in front of a crumbling wall were actually two beautiful sculptures stood before an incredibly detailed relief of what looked like an elder goddess holding her arms out to encompass an array of creatures big and small ranging from lions, wolves, and birds of prey, down to an incredibly detailed bee that looked like it would be larger than her head if she were standing in front of it. All along the bottom border were carved people of nearly every shape and size, with a range of features suggesting different race and coloring, all carrying cups and chalices obviously full of drink held up in celebration.

The statue on the left was depicted sitting upon a throne, resplendent and voluptuous in nudity with a bone crown upon her head, an overflowing cornucopia in one hand, and a whip in the other. The statue on the right was a young woman, slim and bound in muscles and armor, one foot upon a skull, a shield upon her arm and a battle helm upon her brow, she carried a spear with the shielded arm and held a burning torch aloft with the other.

All three women bore an _eerily_ familiar likeness.

Jupiter shivered before carefully setting that last plaque image-side down beside her. On the bottom of the chest were a number of velvet wrapped items set so as to fit like puzzle pieces, despite their different shapes and sizes. On top was a scroll that, though it looked old, didn’t feel that way. It was a material that looked like linen but felt smooth to the touch, wrapped around a pair of rods made of a substance that felt like stone but looked like dark, smoky crystal. When she unwound the scroll, it was only three feet long and mostly blank. She didn’t know what to expect, but a list only sixteen lines long wasn’t it.

At the top of the scroll was an odd symbol, both geometric in design and full of curving lines that drew the eye into a circle that always seemed to stop in the center without seeming to lead there. The language on the first few lines were in something that looked a lot like cuneiform; all angles and lines punctuated by dots and the occasional squiggle. Each line was progressively curvier though they didn’t look like a recognizable language until near the middle lines, just not anything her com-plant could translate. It wasn’t until the tenth line that she realized she was looking at a list of _names_ , each seemingly written in an individual hand. The last four she recognized:

Lady Shinji Li, Bound Concubine of Lord Zhao of House Kress, ƧƦ

Matri Marta of Clave Anular, ƧƦ

Lady Phaedra Sol Amara Cleta, Second Lady of House Yon, ƧƦ

Queen Seraphi Stella Abrasax, First Prime of House Brasax

As Jupiter read, she held the scroll the way it seemed to want to be held (and wasn’t _that_ a thought) by the larger knob on the top right and the lower knob on the bottom left. Through some weird quirk of technology or magic – Jupiter didn’t know which at this point – the not-stone of the scroll rods in her hands heated until near burning temperatures before she noticed. When she _yelped_ at the heat and dropped the scroll, startling Caine from his perusal of the wrapped items in the bottom of the chest, they both watched in appalled fascination as the linen material wrapped around the rods seemed to darken like they were being burned. Before Jupiter could think to even reach for something to put out the inevitable fire, the scorched marks _moved_. As they watched, the symbol she didn’t recognize before, that looked like a backward S with a subscript R, but now suspected meant ‘signified recurrence’ in some manner appeared after Seraphi’s name and a new name appeared beneath it, written in Jupiter’s handwriting as though she’d taken pen and ink to paper.

Queen Jupiter Maxine Bolotnikov Jones, Second Prime of House Brasax

Seventeen names in total, including hers. Sixteen times before now someone with her face and her genes had lived before. She didn’t realize she was hyperventilating until Caine pulled her into his lap and pressed her shoulders back against his chest.

“I’ve got you, Majesty. You’re all right. You’re fine, just breathe. I’ve got you, love.”

Over and over again, accompanied by a warm hand pressing against her chest while his thumb rubbed slow circles on her collar bone. She was curled in his lap, her forehead against his cheek, her nose tucked under his jaw. One of her hands was curled over his knee and the other was wrapped around his upper arm. She breathed.

“ _Lady Jupe,_ ” the shipboard computer intoned quietly. “ _We have arrived in geosynchronous orbit above Ardentis._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for taking so long for this update, but it was a bit of a doozy getting the parts in line for the next segment. It's a short chapter but a lot of information thrown at you, and some surprising revelations - bear with me, we're starting to get to the meat of the story. (I know, what?) A bit more world building in there and some mythology thrown in for the what the hell, why nots. Also. Anyone catch the Anne McCaffrey tribute? Squee.


	18. Penumbra: Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Matris are coming.

Riding the _Cygnus_ into the atmosphere of Ardentis, Jupiter got an up-close and firsthand look at the vast steppes and sweeping mountain chains that dominated the harsh landscape of her new home. Unlike on Earth where the oceans dominated the topography of the planet, Ardentis could boast only two true oceans; great sweeps of water that were nonetheless smaller than the entire North American continent. The rest of the planet was dotted with small seas and long, winding rivers that cut deep canyons through the heavy landmasses.

As they closed in on the _alcazar_ , they flew over high mountains with jagged peaks piercing through thick snow cover. The runoff slowly gathered into raging rivers that slowly ate away at the canyon walls until they were wide valleys with steep walls. One such canyon wall had been carved into like the Pueblo Indians of North America, but on a much grander scale. A cliff-face several hundred meters tall and a dozen miles wide had been deeply cut until there were three levels, each over three hundred feet tall and five hundred feet deep. And on each level, a sprawling stone suburbia complete with lush parks and majestic city centers bordered by towering pillars that were both a stable weight bearing wall for the level above, and a gravity well for easy transport between levels. The lush river valley the city called home was narrow with high walls and meant that the rear areas of the cliff-dwelling would normally never see sunlight if not for the placement of hundreds of football field sized mirrors that rotated throughout the day to catch and direct the rays of the sun.

And right in the center, a promenade built out into the curve of the cliff as it followed the winding path of the river, was the main building, the last (or first?) _alcazar_ of Seraphi and the only one she ever named, Alvëaré.

It was beautiful. Full of contradictions of waterfalls and stark desert stone, draping vines and sharp cacti, lush tropical gardens perfumed with blooms and rooms devoted to sand mandalas favoring white, red, orange, brown and even green and blue colored sands. As the _Cygnus_ came to hover over the receiving platform the size of a baseball field, Jupiter got to see the details much closer up, though surrounded by her Skyjackers and accompanied by her family, Sky and her household that hadn’t gone on to Máti.

Whereas the _alcazar_ on Callisto was enclosed, crystalized and almost claustrophobic, her rooms aboard Izzy were a masterful work of finding room in very little space, this _alcazar_ was all broad, sweeping lines, tall pillars of soft stone, and vast rooms left open to the air and sky. A rich tapestry of earthen colors were the background of stone and sand and marble that were the building blocks to a castle that was only partway built above the cliff that was its base. The rest was dug out of the cliff face itself, those vast depths accounting for some of the incredible pillars standing outside.

A Jupiter and her party walked through the main entrance into a vast hall easily the size of a football field, great swaths of gold silk with a black stylized queen bee over honeycomb hung between the pillars and above the staircases, proclaiming to all who didn’t already know that Jupiter was now this planet’s guardian and the _alcazar_ ’s newest Entitled in residence. Waiting in the center of the hall was a small party of humans and cybernetics, and two Keepers; the current caretakers of Alvëaré and Ardentis.

“I am Carpo, Your Majesty,” said the lavender skinned cybernetic in the front that reminded Jupiter of Gemma Chatterjee. “We are pleased to have you once again returned to us.”

Jupiter blinked at the strange phrase, suddenly reminded of the scroll with seventeen names. Did these people _know?_ She brushed the thought away for later and gestured behind her. “This is Stinger Apini, my Head of Security, and Sky Harper, my Majordomo. Please accommodate their every request as they know my particular needs.”

“Of course, ma’am.” Carpo nodded and then gestured to those behind her. “This is Leta, Head of Household, and her brother Leto, Head of Personnel. Keepers Fjoulm and Ring. And may I introduce Camo Tae, a representative of the city?”

That was different. Or maybe a first of many such introductions, as this was the first planet Jupiter had taken control of besides Earth, which was considered a backwater world at best.

Camo Tae was a tall man with wide shoulders and a slim build. Obviously a splice with his bright orange and black hair and claw-tipped fingers, he bowed low to Jupiter and stayed there until she cleared her throat. When he stood straight he was taller than even Hone, the tallest of her Skyjackers at six and a half feet, though he didn’t seem as imposing. She wondered if that was just his personality or an affectation in the face of Entitled.

“Your Majesty,” he growled low.

Jupiter lifted a brow, amused despite herself. “Representative Camo Tae.”

He ducked his head and Jupiter felt Caine bristle behind her. She wondered what the tiger-splice was hiding and why it made him feel guilty to be called a representative. And then she felt all sorts of weirdly jaded. Just six months ago the fact that he was hiding something would never have occurred to her. But six months ago she had no idea that worlds beyond her own even existed, so she had to give herself credit for _only_ thinking he was hiding something and not planning to marry her for her fortune or kill her for taking what he deemed rightfully his.

Jupiter turned back to Carpo. “I don’t mean to be rude-” she ignore Stinger’s snort. “But I’m sure there’s quite a bit of preparation going on and although I’d love to get the nickel tour-” this time it was her mother making a rude noise. “I have a lot to prepare for and only a short time to do it.”

“Of course, ma’am,” Carpo nodded. “With your permission, Leta will show you to your rooms and I’ll give Stinger a rundown of the security features of the _alcazar_ while Leto helps the remainder of your household get settled.”

“Perfect,” Jupiter smiled, noticing the Keepers conferring out of the corner of her eye. She chirped at Tweak, pleased when he disengaged and rushed to her side. “I want a full background of the planet, please, including a dossier on all prominent figures, including Representative Tae.”

Tweak bobbed acquiescence before tilting his head with a rising trill.

“Work with them if you can trust them, and around them if you can’t.”

At that, Tweak turned feral and pleased before shimmering out of view.

< _Majesty?_ >

Jupiter glanced over her left shoulder and smiled at Caine. < _Only a precaution, I’m sure you’ll be pleased._ >

He huffed a small laugh before comming, < _As ever I am when you think about your own safety, but what did you ask him?_ >

Jupiter blinked at him before remembering that she sometimes spoke the Keeper language without realizing. < _I asked him to gather information, especially about the people._ >

< _Good,_ > Caine gave a pleased sound before looking to the side toward Stinger. < _I’ve let Stinger know._ >

< _Thank you, love._ > Jupiter grinned when Caine’s pointed ears turned a delightful shade of pink.

They followed Leta down a short, luxurious hall with several cozy alcoves decorated with floating chaise lounges, tasteful fountains, and lush ferns. At the end of the hall was a set a pair of stone ten foot double doors that led into a private wing complete with public receiving room, private receiving room, private garden, lounge, library, dining room, sitting room, boudoir, dressing room, closet, bathing room, bedroom, and a room that looked surprisingly like the youth tub Kalique used. Jupiter would be impressed if all the space wasn’t just for one person. She seriously couldn’t understand why anybody would want to disconnect themselves this much from the universe that they would create an entire bubble designed for personal insulation. Though she wasn’t thousands of years old either, so she could really just how one would feel about the universe and all the people in it after a few millennium.

Once a cadre of servitants placed Jupiter and Caine’s clothing and personal items, Leta gave a bow. “Shall I let your guest know you’ve arrived, Majesty?”

Jupiter stilled before lifting a brow at Caine. “My guest?”

Leta gave a quick frown before bobbing a curtsy. “Yes, Majesty. Matri Howland arrived last ten-day. She said it was urgent and was in possession of the correct authentication codes.”

Jupiter smirked and turned to Caine, expecting a smile or a look or something. But not a blank face, bleached white skin, and shaking hands. “Caine?”

He didn’t move, didn’t even breathe.

“Caine?” She moved toward him. “Caine, please. Talk to me.”

He murmured something before slowly sinking to his knees.

More frightened than she’d ever been, she lunged toward him, screaming “ _Stinger! Stinger now!_ ”

There was a flurry of movement out of the corner of her eyes as she dropped to her knees beside him. As soon as she got within arm’s reach he pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her chest with a whimper. Jupiter echoed that cry, burying her fingers in his hair and wrapping one hand around the anchor of his wing to pull him closer as he hyperventilated against her breast.

He was having a panic attack, she realized. She rubbed soothingly against his spine and murmured, “Breathe. Just breathe Caine, breathe with me. In, two three. Out, two three. There you go.” And he was helpless to disobey. As they breathed, he _hid_ himself in her, pulling his wings in tight, crawling into her lap and pulling her clothing around himself as if to hide like a child in his mother’s skirts, and that-

Was accurate.

Darshina Howland. Now that Jupiter took a breath and started to pay attention to the file flashing in the corner of her eye, she noted that the Matri was [ _known for splicing predators, including a particularly noteworthy lineage of lycantants whose stock included a rare Isabelline runt that had, despite lowered expectations, risen to become a renowned Hunter in the Legionnaires Skyjacker units before the {redacted} incident called into question the genetic viability of the lycantants’ pedigree line and greatly devalued her entire splice stock_.]

Jupiter blinked. “She’s your _mother?_ ”

Caine whined and buried himself further in her lap.

“What?!”

She twisted to look over her shoulder at Stinger’s startled shout, dislodging Caine in the process, who abruptly reburied himself in her lap. “Oh, for Heaven’s sake,” she muttered, shushing him when he winced. When she looked up, she noticed Leta standing nervously behind Stinger. “Thank you for fetching him, Leta.”

Leta gave a grateful curtsy and took the dismissal for what it was, hurrying out the doors and closing them gently behind her.

Stinger waited until they were alone before asking, “His _mother?_ ”

“Matri Darshina Howland has apparently been waiting for me _here_ for a little over a week.”

“Ah,” Stinger swallowed, obviously uncomfortable. “His Matri.”

She raised a brow. “Did you _know?_ ” When Caine whimpered again, Jupiter snapped, “Oh _enough!_ ”

Caine recoiled from her before she caught his shoulder and cheek and pulled his face up to hers. “You’re a Skyjacker, _my_ bonded protector. What could she possibly do?”

Caine shrank from her gaze, ducking his head back down and saying nothing. When Jupiter turned her incredulous gaze to Stinger he cleared his throat uneasily and said quietly, “She could, actually, call his genetic material into question and, as her right as a Matri and his maker, decide to have him decommissioned.”

For a long moment Jupiter just stared at him, her expression formidable enough that even Stinger shrank from it a little.

“You think that’s why she’s here?” Jupiter didn’t recognize her own voice, it was so flat.

Stinger must have taken her tone for censure, as he cringed before answering, “It’s a possibility, Your Majesty.”

The title, more than anything else in this entire, _ridiculous_ situation, snapped her back into awareness. Stinger, quailing in front of her and Caine cowering in her shadow as though afraid he was about to be punished, as though Jupiter would just hand him over to _someone_ _else_ -

“No.” The quiet word echoed weirdly in her head. It resonated down through her bones and further, back into her very DNA. She imagined those sixteen women in the past standing tall and firm with her face, all of them with their hands fisted against their sides, their strength bolstering her own. “ _NO_.”

She lunged forward and Caine twitched back from her, but not fast enough as she reached for him, catching his face between her palms. His eyes went wide as she locked gazes with him. “I will not give you over to someone else. You’re _mine_. Do you understand?”

Caine licked his lips before nodding minutely in her hands.

“Good,” she purred. “I will see their entire Guild destroyed and each and every Matri _ruined_ before I let them touch one hair on your head.”

Stinger sucked in a breath.

For all that it was said quietly, and without any real ferociousness, both Stinger and Caine believed her. The air was heavy with certitude and something… else. Something uniquely _her_. Stinger’s instincts were screaming at him to go and kneel at her feet. Caine merely closed his eyes and gave himself over to her will.

Jupiter straightened her back, though she stayed in her kneeling position, humming quietly when Caine merely curled forward into her lap, no longer trying to hide, merely basking in her care. She turned to Stinger and watched him straighten under her gaze. “Give us an hour and then have all my Heads and Skyjackers gather in the public receiving room. I want to meet this Matri Howland.”

Stinger smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

It was nearly two hours later before Jupiter was sitting on the lush rose stone settee with pale gold cushions. The room was wide and open to the air on either side, with two columns of broad pillars, thick and rounded at the base and tapering to fern-like arches high above their heads. The floor, pillars and ceiling were of a marbled rose sandstone polished to such a high gloss that she could see her reflection when the light was just right. Draped between the pillars and arranged in pleasing folds to hide the door behind her floating throne were colorful swaths of shiny gold and black silks adorned with her bee and honeycomb motif. Grouped between the pillars were sets of furniture made to look inviting with wide cushions and low tables. Over each hung a beach ball-sized orb that glowed a warm yellow when the contents were shaken.

On her right, in the nearest alcove sprawling on a pair of plush chairs were Kiza and Kylee, who had struck up an instant ‘we’ve always been friends and just hadn’t met yet’ friendship. Across from the pair, sitting on the edge of a couch was Sky and Maggie. Standing beside them was Aranea chatting politely with a young woman Jupiter recognized as Himalia, Sky’s aide. On the bottom step of her impressive ten-step dais, Stinger kept casting glares his daughter’s way, accompanied by Kiza’s eye rolls whenever he looked away. Jupiter was doing her best to ignore them both. Next to him was Captain Fang Wen with his arms crossed and a concerned expression on his face.

The concern was because Lieutenant Aves, Jupiter’s Sky squad leader, and a good portion of his pilots were sprawled along, over and against the furniture in the alcoves nearest the door like adrenaline-junkie guard dogs with no intention of moving. Jupiter suspected that the Lieutenant had done it deliberately, as he’d called the rest of his squad in once he walked into the room and observed her Skyjackers, so she’d said not a word to discourage him.

Normally fearless, her Skyjackers had closed ranks to protect one of their own.

Caine, as always, was just to her left. But instead of leaning back against her knee and shielding her with his wings, he had his arm draped over her lap, his wings tucked close against her legs and his face hidden in her left hip. Kerr had taken her normal position on her back in front on Jupiter’s throne but closer, with her knees braced against Caine’s hip and her wings spread over his feet, casually cleaning under her fingernails with a brace of darkly gleaming throwing knives. Negi, too, was hovering just as close behind the floating settee, his wings half-unfurled and shadowing the three of them like some overprotective grim reaper. Serjo stood just behind Stinger, a few steps up on the dais, his body face-front but his head turned toward where his wife was sitting. Hone was holding up the base of the pillar just to Jupiter’s left, bristling with weaponry. Perrin was perched like the bird of prey she was spliced with on the top of the pillar, half-hidden in the decorative stone fern leaves, her sniper rifle cradled in her arms.

Even Corrine and Slate, her medic and comm-spec were sitting closer to the dais than normal in the alcove to the left of the throne, near Hone. Behind them, sitting deeper and protected by Metis and Carpo, Jupiter had frowned to see were Aleska and Nino dressed in casual elegance and looking tired. Jupiter would much rather her family _not_ be here for this, as she assumed it might get ugly and really, she just didn’t want to deal with her mother’s judgment if she had to have the Matri killed because she threatened Caine. Sitting beside them, pressed and dressed until Jupiter almost didn’t recognize him, was Vladimir. Maggie had obviously gotten ahold of her wayward cousin, because he was clean-shaven with combed hair and dressed in a suit with a military style jacket. He reminded her of the tsars from historical pictures, and he’d preened, his self-consciousness falling away with the knowledge that he looked good, when she’d told him so.

She’d also heard Stinger warning her family (especially Vladie) to stay quiet during this first meeting, as it was critical nothing go wrong with the Matri. Which led to her cousin getting a quick galactic history lesson, complete with the inhumane treatment of splices as well as the demands she _might_ make if she deemed _her_ splice-stock unworthy.

Vladie’s white-faced whisper of “Better you than me, Jupe” did not make Jupiter feel better.

In the minutes while everyone gathered and situated themselves, Jupiter had asked that food and drink be brought in. Even though they’d eaten a late buffet-style breakfast on Callisto as they left, they’d arrived early morning on Ardentis and she could already tell this was going to be a long day. The food was a plethora of light pastries, cheeses, succulent meats and sweet fruits. A good portion of each was placed invitingly on a small hovering tray to the right of Jupiter’s throne, and she casually chose bits and pieces, which she shared with Caine when she came across something she knew he’d like. The drink was something that went down cold, then fast-heated so that she was left with the impression that she’d licked a glacier after drinking a strong cup of spiced chai without the milk. It was quickly becoming a favorite.

Responding to an unseen cue, Themisto, the young man who would be acting Under-Steward in Stella’s absence, quickly climbed the dais until he stood to Jupiter’s left, on the other side of Caine. “Matri Howland is awaiting your permission to enter, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter quickly set down her cup, swallowed the bite of sparkling (cheese?) she had in her mouth, and ran her fingers through Caine’s hair. “Ready?”

He purred and settled deeper against her. < _As you wish._ >

< _No movie references, Caine. I’m not supposed to smile in her face when she condemns you to die._ >

< _You won’t let her,_ > he smiled against her hip.

She pinched him. < _That’s not the point._ >

< _Yes, Majesty._ >

Jupiter sighed and turned her attention to the opening doors.

Of everything she’d heard of Matri’s and their god-like power over genomes, genetic sequencing, splicing, and their splices, Jupiter was expecting someone much grander than who walked through those doors. To be fair, Kalique had looked like a kindly grandmother before taking a dip in her people juice Fountain-of-Youth bath (and _huh_. Is that where those myths came from?) so she knew appearances could be deceiving. But the pale violet track suit with bright pink sneakers and yellow hippy glasses under silver curls that looked like they’d just been released from coke-can curlers was a bit much, even for a universe of over-pretentious drama-queens.

Although, the Abrasax family was not an accurate representation of the universe, so what did she know?

Darshina Howland was a tall woman, easily five-eleven if her stooped figure straightened. She shuffled forward rather quickly for someone her physical age, liver-spots be damned. In a normal setting, Jupiter wasn’t sure if she would have cooed at the older woman’s obvious individuality and attitude, or rushed over to help her cross the street. But this was different, and Jupiter didn’t move. The closer the Matri got to the dais and Caine, the higher the tension in the room rose until you’d have to be blind not to see the score or more Legionnaires bristling. Her Skyjackers were more subtle about their tension, though each and every one of them, with the exception of Caine, were closely eyeing the Matri’s every move. And that was amazing; that they’d go against the coding instilled by their god-like creators to always _obey_ to protect one of their own, even with assurances that she wouldn’t let it come to that. Jupiter had no idea how hard it was for her splices to disobey their coding, but she appreciated it. Despite that, Caine grew tenser as the Matri came closer until he was clutching the hem of Jupiter’s jacket in white fists hidden by her hips and chair, and shivering minutely against her legs.

For that alone, Jupiter vowed to herself to shatter the hold the Splicing Guild and the Matri’s had over splices if she ever got the chance.

When the woman came to a stop at the foot of the dais, she looked up at Jupiter and just… stared. For an uncomfortably awkward moment, nobody moved and Jupiter and Darshina Howland gazed at each other. After a long minute, Jupiter lifted a brow and the Matri twitched a corner of her mouth up.

“Oh good,” the Matri murmured, her voice much stronger than her physical appearance would have led to believe. “You’re aware, then.”

Jupiter cleared her throat. “Aware?”

“Of who you are,” her amusement did a lot to thaw the Legionnaires in the room, but if anything the Skyjackers became more alert at the perceived slight.

“And who am I?” Jupiter’s tone cooled and she didn’t move beyond scratching her fingers against Caine’s scalp, subtly relaxing them both with the assurance that she wouldn’t let this woman do anything to him.

At the cool question, Matri Howland straightened, her gaze narrowing. “You are the Signified Recurrence of Queen Seraphi Abrasax of House-”

“House Brasax. Yes, I am very well aware of that,” Jupiter said dryly. “As it is the reason Titus Abrasax contracted to have me kidnapped off my planet before Balem Abrasax could have me quietly murdered.”

“Are you aware that Seraphi was the Signified Recurrence of one Lady Phaedra Cleta of the House of Yon?”

It was said with such finality and delivered with such triumph that Jupiter had to wonder what the woman’s goal was in using that bit of knowledge as an opening bid. Was she trying to curry favor before attempting to take Caine from her? Jupiter just raised her other brow, “Yes, I am. Actually.”

In reality, Jupiter had only a few hours in which to acclimate herself to this fact; that she was indeed the latest in a long line of reincarnated versions of herself. If she hadn’t opened Seraphi’s Legacy and rifled through its contents, she’d most likely be scoffing right now, despite the truth of the Matri’s words. It made her wonder _why_ the Matri was telling her this, and what she might have wanted for revealing the truth of her historical selves.

“You… are?” That stumped the Matri.

He woman had obviously come with the intension of this great reveal only to have her dramatic moment spoiled by Jupiter’s foreknowledge. Jupiter nearly snorted.

Darshina Howland straightened, nodding to herself as though concluding an inner argument. “Then you must be aware of the fact that Lady Phaedra was a Signified Recurrence as well?”

“Yes, Matri Howland, I am very aware that I am the seventeenth recurrence. However-”

“ _Seventeen?_ ” the Matri’s mouth dropped open rather unpleasantly.

And she wasn’t the only one reacting to that. There were several gasps and one startled, “ _Jupiter!_ ” that she just knew was her mother, but she couldn’t afford to lose concentration now.

“However,” Jupiter gritted her teeth. “That does not explain why you’re here.”

The Matri blinked. “It doesn’t?”

Fed up, Jupiter barked. “Are you here to decommission Caine?”

“What?” Darshina Howland blinked again before looking down at the man draped over Jupiter’s lap like she was seeing him for the first time. “No. Why would I? He’s done exactly as I programmed him to do.”

And Caine… _flinched_.

Every protective instinct in Jupiter howled for her to tear this woman apart. So violent was Jupiter’s reaction that it frightened her, and she froze.

“You mean to tell me,” _That_ was Stinger’s passed-off-commander voice, and Jupiter could only be grateful to him for jumping in. “That you programmed Caine Wise to black out in an instinct-driven fugue state wherein he tore out the throat of an Entitled?”

And Matri Howland turned to glare at Stinger. For what it’s worth, Stinger merely cringed under her gaze until a quick glance at Jupiter out of the corner of his eye, and her approving nod, gave him the fortitude to continue challenging the Matri’s stare.

Something very like approval entered Darshina Howland’s eyes before she turned back to look upon Caine, who had turned and lifted his head at Stinger’s accusation, and Jupiter with confusion. “You don’t know,” she stated quietly. And then she laughed.

From the moment Jupiter had heard of her presence, the Matri had made her uncomfortable. But no more so than now. She was about ready to have her forcefully ejected out into space the woman caught her breath and shook her head at herself.

“Here,” she made a tossing motion with her right hand, and suddenly Caine jerked in her arms.

Already on edge, Jupiter was nearing her breaking point when she asked coldly, “What did you just do?”

“I gave him back his memory, of a sort, of what happened on the _Lobella_ as it headed toward Canaculum VI with its precious cargo.”

Jupiter put aside the way all her Skyjackers flinched at the name of the ship and focused on the first part of that sentence. “What do you mean you ‘gave him back his memory’?”

“Just what I said,” the Matri frowned.

“ _How?_ ”

“I am his maker, I can access anything on his person, including his com-plant, as is my right.”

“So you, what? Just uploaded something _into his brain?_ Without _his permission?_ ” And everything about that statement caused air raid sirens to go off in Jupiter’s head, because if someone _could_ access another persons’ com-plant without their permission, then that meant that there was a line of programming in the code that controlled the com-plant that allowed _anyone_ with the correct codes to access the com-plants of _everyone_.

The Matri blinked. “Yes?”

And Jupiter _snapped_. Unlike the rest of her family, whose temper was fiery and loud, Jupiter’s temper was ice cold, freezing all those in her path. She lurched to her feet, shifting to the right so as not to dump Caine on his ass with her movement, tough she moved fast enough that he fell back onto his knees. Kerr skittered sideways, wing out and eyes wide. She saw Negi lurch forward out of the corner and Stinger lift a hand to hold him and the others back as Jupiter descended the ten steps. She wasn’t sure what expression was on her face, but it was formidable enough that the Matri took a few stumbling steps backwards before firming her spine.

Jupiter didn’t care that this woman was likely ten times her age, an incredibly intelligent genetic manipulator, and a powerful figure in the world she now inhabited. She would not allow _anyone_ to mistreat her people. Especially not offhand like it _didn’t matter_.

“I. Will _not_.” Jupiter began, just close enough and quiet enough that only those with enhanced hearing would catch her words. “Stand for you to treat _anyone_ under my protection with the casual disregard you have just shown. Do I make myself clear?”

The Matri stared at her for a few minutes, her eyes darting back and forth between Jupiter’s before an expression pf understanding passed over her face. “Forgive me, Queen Jupiter Jones. I have badly misjudged the entire situation.” She straightened and took a step back before looking Jupiter in the eye before giving a low bow. “Allow me to introduce myself.”

Jupiter eyed her before glancing over her shoulder at Caine. At his curious expression, she nodded to herself. “As you say, I think we started on the wrong foot.”

“I am Second Mark Matri Darshina Howland, First Comptroller of Genetic Sequencing and Restoration in charge of Lycantants and other sundry, protective breeds. And, for the last hundred years of her life, the personal Splicer for Her Majesty, Queen Seraphi Abrasax.”

There was a second of complete silence before Jupiter spun to face Caine. “Private room, now.”

Caine leapt to his feet, using his wings to give him distance as he leapt over her throne – Negi ducked to the side without missing a beat – and off the dais toward the back door hidden by the hanging silk. There was a flurry of movement as people rose to follow.

Jupiter turned to look at Stinger. “ _Only_ the Matri and Caine.”

Stinger froze, “Majesty-”

“I am aware of your concerns,” Jupiter forestalled his arguments. “And I’ll be sure to call you in if the Matri does anything untoward. But I need to understand this first before I fill you in.”

“But you will fill me in?”

Jupiter smiled at his look. “Of course.”

That seemed to appease him. The rest of her Skyjackers, though restless, obeyed without question. It was Aleska who darted passed to guards and gave Hone a withering look when he moved to stop her from reaching her daughter. Hone held up his hands, but Negi just bodily inserted himself, keeping his eyes cast downwards so as not to meet the Grand Duchess’ eyes.

“Move,” Aleska sneered.

Negi shivered but held his ground.

Jupiter nearly turned her icy glare upon Aleska. “Mom, stop abusing my Skyjackers.”

“Jupiter,” Aleska nearly snarled. “You explain this, now.”

At that, Jupiter stilled and lifted gaze to meet her mother’s. “No.”

It was a moment, and it was a small one, but it was significant. Jupiter had been dreading it; the moment her mother pushed her too far and she would have to push back. It had happened several times already, that push and pull, and Jupiter understood that her mother was frightened for her – trying to protect her. Before. But this moment. This was Jupiter asserting her control and her mother not likin it. This was her mother demanding information that she did not need in an effort to gain back some of the control Aleska felt she’d lost. And Jupiter knew she would have to push so far back that it would break unless Aleska backed off.

Jupiter understood – she really did – but she didn’t have time for it.

“Wha-?”

“You can stay here and wait, _quietly_ , with the others for me to return-”

“And you will explain then?” Aleska interrupted.

Jupiter frowned, “Or I can have you escorted to your rooms by one of my Skyjackers, who are only doing their jobs and protecting me.”

“They don’t need to protect you from me!” Aleska yelled.

And Jupiter closed her eyes, knowing what would happen next. “Don’t they?” When she opened her eyes they slid off her mother’s aggrieved face to Negi, who nodded and straightened his stance, willing to step in and protect her even from her mother’s anger.

Jupiter turned away, ignoring the soft, hurt gasp from her mother and gesturing the Matri, who had quietly witnessed the entire encounter, through the door held open by Caine.

* * *

Something had changed between that room and this one. Something small but significant, and Jupiter was too worried about Matri Darshina Howland and her reasons for coming here to really parse the difference.

The private receiving room, like the public one, was decorated entirely of polished rose colored sandstone, open to elements and hung with black and gold silks decorated with the bee and honeycomb motif. Unlike the public room, this one had only one sitting area dominated by a much smaller throne area and literally surrounded on all sides by comfortable looking chaise lounges and chairs piled high with pillows and within easy reach of laden trays floating an array of food and drink to any who wanted such. Between several of the pillars were veritable gardens of lush green plants boasting a variety of brightly colored leaves and delicately perfumed flowers. Somewhere in the background, the soothing music of water trickling indicated a fountain, but Jupiter couldn’t see it from where she sat.

“Please, make yourself comfortable,” Jupiter gestured to one of the many seating arrangements around her before turning to Caine. “Fetch the scroll for me.” < _The one with the names of the reincarnates._ >

Caine blinked at her before glancing subtly at the Matri.

< _I’ll be fine, love. Body armor and a pistol in the small of my back, remember?_ >

He should. He’d stuffed her into the clothes and shoved the Mauler into the pancake holster clipped to the back of her pants under her jacket before allowing her to join the group waiting in the public receiving room.

Caine gave a small wince before nodding and leaving the room.

“Two things,” Jupiter started when she turned to face Matri Howland. “First, Caine is mine. Completely and utterly, and if you so much as send him a note without _his_ permission I will have you quietly disappeared. Am I understood?”

Matri Howland’s eyes widened at that before narrowing in thought. “‘His’ permission? That’s not usually how threats of ownership are delivered.”

“I’m not threatening,” Jupiter gave a sharp smile. “And I don’t ‘own’ him. He’s mine because he chooses to be mine and I’ll protect those things I care about. But I will never casually disregard his right to choice or self-govern like you did.”

“I made him.”

“That does not give you _ownership_ of him, and I don’t care what your laws say; no one owns another person. You may make decisions for them while they are too young to decide for themselves, you might even _sell_ them, because you think you’re owed compensation for their creation, care and education, but you will _never_ own them so long as they are sentient and capable of making decisions for themselves.”

“You feel very strongly about this.”

“ _Feel_ , bullshit. That is Truth.” Jupiter shrugged, “Whether or not you people can see and recognize it depends on just how intelligent you are.”

The Matri blinked. “Did you just imply that an entire universe is stupid?”

“Common _practice_ does not equate common _sense_. That’s true of people, no matter where they are from.”

And Matri Howland threw back her head and laughed. It took a moment for her to regain her sense, and she was stifling her laughter when she asked, “And the second?”

Caine walked back into the room with the scroll in his hands.

“What we are about to speak of does not leave this room.” Jupiter accepted the scroll and smiled when Caine chose to drop to the ground by her feet rather than take up a position behind her. From the Matri’s expression, she hadn’t expected the show of solacement in her presence, not after that scene in the other room. Jupiter waited until the other woman’s eyes lifted to meet hers before offering the scroll as proof. “I am a recurrence in a long line of genetic recurrences.”

It was a simple statement of fact, but it was an incredible thing, nonetheless.

Matri Howland took the scroll and opened it, her eyes widening only once when she understood that each line was a name. “I’d only found six in the line, myself. Back to a woman called Rema, near the end of the Time of Troubles when we were beginning to sort into Houses for protection and economic reasons to fight against the Sargon. As I understand it, she was the first to call several families together on one of the outer rim planets to band for protection and create a House.”

Jupiter thought briefly of the botched history lesson Stinger had given, about the Sargon being a warring, dinosaur-like race, as well as her own digging through files uploaded to her com-plant. It fit with her perceived understanding of the timeline. Seraphi and the three women before her had been incredibly long-lived thanks to the invention of Regen-X during the clone plague thanks to Shinji Zhao, so thousands of years had passed while they were alive as opposed to before when the women had lived normal lives reaching to a century at best. And it would make sense that her pre-incarnate from that time, like the times before when these women had a major role in the history of civilization around them – for good or bad – had been a major component of forming the socio-economic structure of the world they now lived in.

It was actually a bit daunting; knowing that her former selves (if what Kalique said could be believed) had actually changed the universe, then what would be expected of her?

Mentally shaking herself, Jupiter studied the woman before her. Not visually daunting herself, Matri Howland nonetheless reminded Jupiter of the women always standing in the background of photos taken during historically significant moments. She wasn’t someone for the spotlight, but she would be a key player in anything to come, for good or ill. And Jupiter knew that if she didn’t sway this woman to her side, then she would one day find herself fighting against her. And from what she’d alluded to so far, that was not a place Jupiter wanted to find herself.

The Matri clicked her tongue, “I can only read about half of these, and though I recognize a few more of the Hieratic and Demotic styles, some of these proto-writing systems I've never even seen outside museums.”

Jupiter blinked, “You have museums?”

“Yes, of course. How else are we to keep our eons of history straight? There's an entire sector on Ores devoted to record-keeping and preservation.”

“I should like to see that,” Jupiter murmured.

“That can easily be arranged,” the Matri responded distractedly.

“Matri Howland,” Jupiter started, glancing down at the scroll in her hands. “What was it, exactly, that Seraphi hired you for?”

Darshina blinked and then looked away, rolling the scroll back up and returning it to Jupiter as she composed her thoughts. This new queen wasn’t as easy to read as Seraphi had been. But by then, Darshina understood Seraphi to have been near the edge of something, something that would ultimately conclude in Seraphi’s murder. She wasn’t sure this new queen had the strength to carry that, but then again… From her actions today, this queen was protective of her people, be they natural human or splice, and Darshina could appreciate that. It made her rethink her approach, but it didn’t alter her plans drastically. It might actually help, in the long run. Especially if this new queen was interested in continuing Seraphi’s work. And perhaps, if her research was correct, the work of several of her pre-incarnates.

“Seraphi hired me to study and preserve the genes of certain lycantant and lycaoméro lines. I believe she was searching for something in particular. Three packs of lycantants were bred at the same time that were the culmination of centuries of research and crossbreeding. Caine, despite being Isabelline, was the only one out of those nearly sixty individuals that showed the behavioral traits that Seraphi wanted produced.”

Caine stiffened at her side, but his face remained calm, his eyes attentive.

< _Are you all right, love?_ >

He leaned harder against her knee, but otherwise didn’t move. < _Fine, Majesty. Curious about what traits they were searching for, though._ >

< _Shall we find out?_ > Jupiter didn’t let on about her private conversation as she asked aloud, “Which behavioral traits were those?”

“Loyalty without compulsion. Free will without psychosis. And intelligence without overt aggression. All the things that had been coded into the more human version of lycantants after the Clone Wars ended.”

Jupiter frowned. “I don’t understand. Compulsive loyalty is something you can code into a person?” she wasn’t even going to touch upon the psychotic free will or aggressive intelligence thing. “And what do you mean the more human version?”

Matri Howland beetled her brows for a moment in confusion before pulling out a rather thick sheave and setting it flat on the table between them after fiddling with it for a moment. She tapped the screen once and then gestured to the foot tall hologram that appeared above it. “That is the first iteration of lycantants bred to protect and defend us against the Sargon Hoarde.”

On the display was something that looked a lot like the werewolves in the _Underworld_ movies. Grotesque amalgams, these creatures were obviously evenly propagated between wolf and man, with an elongated face full of fangs, pointed ears atop its head, claws, a thin layer of fur, and even a tail, this creature was hunched over and, though it obviously could run on all fours, it walked upright on its toes.

“At first, true sapeolycaons were split evenly between their genes. They were fierce, territorial, and efficient. A true blending of human intelligence and animal cunning. The first wave savaged the Sargon Hoarde so much that they retreated for nearly a decade before returning in force with more animal like traits of their own. We learned, through trial and error, that we needed less animal instinct and more human intelligence, so the lycantant was designed with less than a third of the lycaon genes in the two percent gene block. Modern lycantants are actually only ten percent lycaon in the two percent gene block.”

Jupiter blinked. “Yeah, I got too much animal at first, and now much more human.”

“Essentially,” Matri Howland nodded. “They’re actually only one tenth of two percent lycaon.”

“Why do you keep repeating ‘two percent’? Is it significant?”

This time, Matri Howland blinked. “Is it…? Yes. Yes, the two percent gene block in all DNA strands are what determine our species, sex and race. The rest of the eighty-three point three millimeters determine function and operation.”

< _Like a computer,_ > Caine explained. < _The ninety-eight percent is the operating system. The other two percent are customizable options._ >

“Okay, that makes sense.”

“It’s what makes your situation so remarkable,” the Matri began, visibly getting excited about her field of expertise. “The base pairs on a DNA chain are measured in nanometers, which means the mutable genetic material is in the hundreds of thou-”

Jupiter tuned out on the technical jargon for a minute as she queried her com-plant and did a bit of math. Nanometers were one billionth the length of a millimeter. So 1.7 millimeters was one billion, seven hundred thousand nanometers… that was still an awful lot of base DNA pairs to mix and match.

“-makes me think you’re recurrence was not an accident, but an example of _actual_ reincarnation.”

Caine straightened as though shocked and Jupiter tuned back in to _that_. “I’m sorry, what?” She glanced between the two of them, noting the Matri’s assessing look and Caine’s shaken expression. “I thought genetic recurrences were so commonplace that putting them in a Will was standard practice.”

“Standard practice, yes, because genetic recurrences are not an accident, but a combination of factors put into place by the dead party while they were alive. Most only accomplish enough genetic similarity that their visage is recognizable, but no more.”

She nudged Caine with her knee.

< _It means that there’s enough similarity in their gene-print that the recurrence looks comparable,_ > he offered in a subdued tone.

Jupiter glanced between the two of them, her brows raising. “I’m missing something important.”

“Let me elaborate,” Matri Howland offered. “Ninety percent of all genetic recurrences are the result of several genetic manipulations through willing parties to reproduce the specific _look_ of a person so that, _in theory_ , that person may be reborn if put into a similar situation as the original.”

“Nature versus nurture,” Jupiter posited.

The Matri tipped her head. “Just so. A number of factors go into these deliberate manipulations: One; they’re almost always _on purpose_. Two; they’re almost always within three generations of the death of the original gene print, which when looked at through negotiation and _time_ , are usually within one to two hundred years of the process being started. Three; despite having the original gene print available for comparison, without the ability to truly clone an individual, the genetic recurrences will usually still have one tenth to one hundredth percentage of variation in the two percent gene block.”

Jupiter stared while she thought that through. From what Kalique, Titus and Balem had indicated, the likelihood of Seraphi setting in motion a recurrence intentionally was slim to none. Especially since she’d been murdered by her oldest child before she could even contemplate her own demise. Also, Seraphi had died nearly a thousand years before Jupiter was born, long after any planned actions on her part would have taken place. But it was the last bit that confused her.

“When you say most genetic recurrences usually still have one tenth to one hundredth percentage of variation… are you saying that I don’t?”

The Matri leaned forward. “Your genetic print has less than zero-point-zero-zero-two-five percent variation in the two percent gene block.”

That was ten thousandths of a percentage in variation. Jupiter didn’t really understand the significance of that yet, but she could see from Caine’s wide eyes and the way the Matri was watching her reactions that it was _somewhat_ important.

“And that means what?”

“It means,” the Matri elaborated. “That from what we’ve been able to establish, you are genetically identical to Seraphi in every way that matters except in the genes that define instinctual memory. A true genetic recurrence. And if the pattern holds, the first indication of actual reincarnation, body _and_ soul.”

“What do you mean, ‘if the pattern holds’?” Caine asked because Jupiter was too stunned to respond to that.

“When I did research into the recurrences, I pulled their genetic print from the Well in the Crèche I found that the differences in variation between Queen Seraphi and Lady Phaedra was seventeen ten-thousandths of a percentage, while the difference between Lady Phaedra and Matri Marta was eight ten-thousandths. Yet when I compared Queen Jupiter and Lady Phaedra, it was exactly forty-two ten-thousandths.”

Caine’s eyes widened. “You’re saying the difference is deliberate.”

“Not just deliberate,” the Matri reiterated. “But indicative of purpose.”

“Instinctual memory,” Caine murmured. “You’re talking about genetic memory; memories of her previous lives. That’s what you think the difference indicates?”

“It’s telling that the difference between Queens Seraphi and Jupiter is twenty-five ten-thousandths, the difference between Queen Seraphi and Lady Phaedra is seventeen ten-thousandths, and the difference between lady Phaedra and Matri Marta is eight ten-thousandths.”

Caine cocked his head to the side as he thought. “You think the difference is due to the time lived?”

“It stands to reason,” the Matri smiled gently, as though a prized pupil had come to the same conclusion as their teacher. “And I’ve come across no other reason for the difference, as of yet.”

Caine hummed and turned to Jupiter. “It would explain some things.”

“Would it?” Jupiter murmured.

“Yes,” Caine frowned as if only just realizing from her too quiet tone how this information must affect her. “How quickly you understood Tweak and the other Keepers, and occasionally speak their tongue without realizing. Also, how you knew the full Oath of Binding without me prompting you.”

Jupiter frowned as she remembered several other things that were odd at the time but easily dismissed; her knowing how to behave in front of the crew of the _Isurus_ , knowing how to operate certain things in her quarters on the ship as well as on Callisto _alcazar_ , how she instinctively operated her com-plant within days while even weeks later her aunt and mother are still confounded at times, Seraphi’s Legacy and the Coelura. It made a weird kind of sense – she _knew_ things and didn’t know _how_ she knew them, but she did.

What she didn’t know was what this meant for _her_ future. What she destined to repeat the past?

Jupiter cleared her throat. “So why did you come here, Matri?”

Darshina Howland straightened, realizing quickly that the theory of Jupiter’s _reincarnation_ as opposed to _recurrence_ was likely to be a sensitive one. She carefully offered, “I would like to continue my research while we reside here. There were some… troubling similarities between the six recurrences I was able to uncover, as well as some incredible similarities.”

Jupiter nodded thoughtfully before her brows beetled in confusion. “‘We’?”

“Ah, yes.” Matri Howland resettled herself. “That was the second part of why Queen Seraphi hired me; the lycaoméros."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I know this took awhile, but it was actually hard to write every single one of those scenes and I suspect it will be even harder to write the next few. Bear with me, I promise I haven't abandoned this story.
> 
> Also, I need someone to draw the queen bee for me. Anybody good at tribal tattoo style drawings?


	19. Penumbra: Part III

Puppies.

Sapeoméros were animals spliced with human DNA to make them more intelligent. According to Matri Howand, it’s not a popular study among splicers, and Jupiter could understand why. Along with her focus on lycantants, the Matri specialized in lycaoméros; lycaons – the indigenous wolf-like animal on Ores – spliced with some human DNA to make them more intelligent. When Matri Howland first started explaining, Jupiter was a little bit horrified. Giant predator wolves made more intelligent? It sounded like the beginning of a scifi horror movie. But then Caine got excited and Jupiter started to understand that after several millions years of tweaking, the lycaons were more like domesticated wolves – dogs, why can’t you just say dogs? – and giving them a smidgen – no, that’s not a technical term Jupiter, stoppit – of human DNA made them just intelligent enough to understand a vast amount of human speech and Jupiter started to get it. A pet (dog) that could understand you?

That was cool.

The Matri had apparently been fiddling with several breeding lines in the last hundred years, perfecting what she called ‘the perfect balance between instinct and intelligence’ to gain her most recent batch, a small pack of four lycaoméros that she’d brought with her from Sidírou Yfalo in the Este System; another home world for the Abrasax that Jupiter had inherited from Kalique. While the Matri went off to collect her newest batch for ‘inspection’ (she was apparently gifting them to Jupiter for allowing her to stay, and wouldn’t take no for an answer considering she’d made them for her pre-incarnation Seraphi in the first place) Jupiter reminded herself to look up the other systems she’d inherited and prepare for ‘small talk’ about those systems the day after tomorrow.

So. Puppies. Big, wolf-like puppies with near human intelligence. Four of them. That could be. Fun. Ish.

While alone, Jupiter took the opportunity to pull Caine close. He came with a hum, sliding easily between her knees so that he could kneel up and wrap arms around her waist, pressing his forehead against her collarbone.

“Are you okay?” she whispered in his ear.

He hummed and nodded, sliding his nose along her shoulder and up the tendon in her neck until he could tuck it behind her ear and inhale the pure scent of her. “Yes, Majesty.”

Outside the sun was just beginning rise above the cliffs, the air was crisp and cool and carried the unmistakable scent of sagebrush and sunbaked stone.

“You’ll tell me?” Jupiter murmured, tipping her head back and inhaling the clean scent while quietly enjoying Caine ministrations on her skin. “If that changes?”

“Of course,” he breathed against her skin, enjoying the quiet moment in her arms.

Jupiter lowered her chin to look him in the eye. “And the memory?”

“I-” Caine blinked and his face when slack as he pulled up the memory for review. “I didn’t lose control. Not- not really.”

“No?” It was a question, but Jupiter didn’t push. She knew he would tell her when he was ready.

“No, the Entitled I killed, he was an official of some sort. I overheard a communiqué I shouldn’t have; the official was doing something he shouldn’t – stealing encoded documents? – and I was in the wrong place at exactly the wrong time. In order to cover it up, the Official committed suicide via a small vial that caused me to enter a feral state and lose time. And when I didn’t immediately kill him, he attacked me and I… I defended myself.”

It left Jupiter with more questions than answers; like ergo was that official? What were the documents that he’d seen? Why were they worth suiciding over? And that was just the tip of the iceberg, but Caine seemed more settled in himself, as if he didn’t have that fugue episode hanging over his head anymore. And really, he didn’t. He was no longer scared of losing control of himself because he never had in the first place.

Caine pushed up into her arms, causing Jupiter to lean back on the throne to make room for him. Crouched over her with his wings just barely opened, he reminded her of some mythical beast. “I really am all right,” he smiled gently, and then his head dipped.

The morning spun away. From somewhere outside a bird shrieked. The wind blew. The faint sound of people in conversation drifted to their ears. All of that seemed very far away and disconnected from reality. What was real was Caine’s mouth on hers, his tongue tangling with hers, the warm female scent of her body in his nostrils and filing his lungs. And her taste – oh, her taste. She tasted salty and slightly tart. He could taste the spiced tea they’d both drank, and something else… something sweet. Honey. She tasted like honey.

He wanted to devour her. He realized she was clutching fistfuls of his jacket lapel. One at a time, without breaking the kiss, he peeled her hands off his front and tucked them around his neck, allowing him to settle more completely against her, from knee to shoulder.

How could a kiss affect him so totally? But it wasn’t just a kiss; they used their whole bodies, rubbing his chest against her nipples until he could feel them stand out, hard and aching even through the thin layer of body armor beneath her silk blouse, while he moved the bulge of his erection against her soft belly with a slow subtle rhythm that was nevertheless as powerful as a sea surge.

She made a wild, smothered sound, and tried to climb him, tried to get high enough to position his aching erection where it would do the most good. One big fist was twined in her hair, holding her head tilted back, while he locked both arms around her and lifted her the few inches needed until their bodies fit as if they had been bespoke to go together. Curves and mounds, angles and planes – they fit. The heat of her body seared him all the way through, the scent of her skin permeated him, and her honey taste beguiled him into wanting more, needing, demanding more. So he took her, holding her closer, so that her hips cradled his pelvis and the ridge of his erection rode hard against the juncture of her thighs as he pressed her back against the settee.

He moved – another one of those rolling thrusts – and she damn near climaxed right there. Her nails bit into his back just below his wings and she made a guttural sound, arching in his arms.

“It’s like I’m watching a really soft porn that’s on daytime telly by mistake,” Stinger mused to himself. “And I can’t change the channel, or look away, because it might disappear and I’ll never get another chance to see it.”

Someone next to him made a fascinated, throaty noise in agreement.

Caine tore his mouth free from hers. He was panting, the expression in his eyes wild and hot as he met Stinger’s amused gaze. He flared his wings to protect her from Stinger’s sight.

“No,” she moaned. “Don’t stop!” She arched against him again.

“Stars!” he said, the word so low and rough it was almost unintelligible, not much more than a growl. “Jupiter,” He closed his eyes, his expression savage with lust barely restrained as he tried to get himself under control. “Majesty, I can’t fuck you out here.”

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway as Jupiter clung to him, gasping for breath. He rested his damp forehead against hers as she muttered, “Shit.”

Caine broke into full-throated laughter. It was that or cry.

At his laughter, Jupiter finally returned to herself. She became aware of an audience and straightened, dumping Caine on the floor for the second time that morning.

Stinger grinned down at him, politely ignoring his Queen’s disheveled appearance as he smirked, “Losing your touch there?”

“Shut up,” Caine snarled at him as he shoved a table out of the way, wrenched the corner of his wing out from under his hip, and slowly, carefully, got to his feet.

Jupiter cleared her throat and straightened her clothes as she sat up and met Stinger’s amused gaze. “Shut up,” she repeated.

“Yes, Majesty,” Stinger huffed before adding, “If it’s all the same to you, could you please come and inspect your new stock before my daughter makes off with one or all of them?”

Jupiter’s face lit up. “The puppies?” Then she was up and heading toward the door before either Stinger or Kerr, who’d been standing beside him the whole time, could say anything.

As she ran through the door into the other room with a muffled squeal, Stinger turned to Kerr with an exasperated look. “What’s with women and puppies?”

Kerr lifted her lip in a sneer before spinning on the ball of her foot to join her queen.

As Caine joined Stinger in the doorway he gave him a flat look. “You lucky dog.”

Caine snorted.

* * *

As Jupiter entered the main Receiving Room, her eyes were immediately drawn to the commotion in the center where Kiza, Kylee and a good portion of her people were crowding. A quick glance to the side where her family had been sitting showed that her mother had left the room. Her aunt Nino gave a half-hearted shrug and Jupiter felt her shoulders drop for a moment. That was going to have to be dealt with, and soon if she didn’t want it to fester into something unmanageable.

As she walked forward, her Skyjackers made room for her in the crowded circle encompassing Matri Howland and her four lycaoméro puppies.

The size of Irish Wolfhounds, they were obviously still growing into their massive paws. With coltish limbs flopping about, the four were soaking in the adoration. All of them had faces more reminiscent of a fox than a wolf, with long narrow snouts, big forward facing brown eyes, and large ears. Around their neck, shoulders and throat was a thick ruff that, when on alert, would bristle up and out to make them look bigger and more menacing. In particular, the fur just behind the skull and along the spine was longer and, when bristling, looked a bit like a Mohawk to cut and impressive and formidable silhouette. Their tails were thick and long, hanging nearly to the floor when relaxed and curling up over their backs when alert.

They didn’t wag their tails when excited – they weren’t actually dogs – but their tongues lolled and they were not quiet. Jupiter heard them before she saw them, chirping and hooting, woofing, whining, barking and howling, they reminded her of the videos of huskies on YouTube, trying to talk like people and only lacking the vocal chords.

The largest, a female Jupiter later learned, was an ashy red-brown all over, with a dark stripe down her spine and dark paws, ears, muzzle and tail. She stood waist height to Jupiter at the shoulders and watched those around her with an air of queenly tolerance. It was an eerily familiar expression for Jupiter to see on a dog. Wolf. Puppy. She gave the occasional huff when the others got out of line and a low woof when a person stepped too close. She was obviously the leader of this little pack.

Standing nearly in her shadow and taking tentative steps away from her only to return to her side with a skittish whine was the smallest of the pack, still standing at hip height to Jupiter, and the only male. Shaded in reds with gray points, his coat was a brighter contrast to the larger female, while his demeanor was a seemingly meeker version.

Obviously the omega of this pack, she took a step forward, wanting to cuddle him until he was confident of striking out on his own. The other two females, the betas, were the most distinctive in their coloring. The larger of the two was a dark bay brindle with a lighter belly and dark points shading nearly to purple, spotted from the top down like she’d been splattered with paint. The smaller female was a yellow blond with a light grey belly and red socks.

They were beautiful, and awe-inspiring, and obviously intelligent predators that would stand nearly chest-high to her when they were fully grown, but what struck Jupiter most was how the two betas were playing.

Her Sky squad had abandoned their post at the door to group near the pups in the center of the room. Two of them fearlessly stood in front of the larger, brindle female and were playing a form of keep-away with their feet; shuffling one foot forward only to jerk it back when the pup moved to put her paw on top of their boot before offering the other foot. They’d do this, gradually speeding up until both pilot and pup looked like they were dancing, hopping from one foot to the other until either one lost their balance or the pup caught the pilot’s shoe under her paw. Jupiter watched this happen three times, the pup winning twice before the smaller, yellow female, who’d been crouched nearby watching with a rapt expression, rolled forward into the game like a cat pouncing, upsetting her sister and bowling the pilot back into his cohorts amid raucous laughter.

Jupiter snickered into her hands as the Matri called the pups to order. Only, they didn’t line up in front of the Matri, but rather right in front of Jupiter with the largest female in front, the small make to her left – and didn’t that seem familiar – and the two beta to either side. She lowered her hands and made eye contact with each one of the four lycaoméros. As she looked at then, she was reminded very strongly of a poster in her old room of the four largest moons of her namesake’s planet. She cocked her head as an idea struck her.

“Have you named them?” she asked the Matri without taking her eyes off the pups.

“No, ma’am,” the Matri answered with a slight smile. “Though I’ve been calling that large female in front ‘Alpha’ because of her demeanor.”

“Well, there can only be one alpha in the room,” Jupiter smiled back, remembering some lessons from long ago. “And it’s certainly not gonna be her.”

The smoky grullo female stared at Jupiter, lifting a lip and giving a low growl that had the Skyjackers in the room tensing. Jupiter narrowed her eyes a bit, but only stared back. Calm and relaxed in the knowledge that she was perfectly safe with Caine at her back, even with a hundred pound predator challenging her. After a taut moment, the pup blinked and looked away, ceding her assumed position with a small nod that had Jupiter blinking in surprise.

Right. Human intelligence in a lupine package.

“Okay,” Jupiter sucked in a breath before meeting each of the pups’ eyes. “Names. I can do names. You-” she pointed at the female in front. “How does ‘Ganymede’ sound?”

Ganymede gave an aborted step forward, ears up and mouth open in a wolfish smile. Jupiter didn't even have to ask; that body language was obvious approval and eagerness.

Jupiter grinned before turning to the females on either side. “Callisto,” she called the larger, dark bay brindle, “And Europa,” was the smaller blond.

“I think I see where this is going,” muttered Stinger somewhere behind her. He was quickly hushed.

“And you, my beautiful boy,” Jupiter bent forward until she was eye-level with the small, rose grey male. “You I'm naming ‘Io.’ How's that sound?”

“Sounds like a goddess.”

This time Stinger was hushed with a grunt that indicated someone had elbowed him hard before hissing, “ _He doesn't know that!_ ”

“Doesn't matter,” she crooned, paying her Skyjackers no more mind as Io took a tentative step forward, his head down but his ears up as he stretched toward her. When Jupiter lifted a closed fist to let him smell her, she froze momentarily as the other three lowered their noses toward her as well.

< _It's all right, Majesty_ ,> Caine commed. < _They just want to get your scent to complete the bonding_. >

Jupiter blinked and forcibly relaxed her tender muscles as they each took in her smell. < _Like the bond between my Skyjackers?_ >

< _Just so_. >

Unlike the other three who took in her scent and then settled on the ground around her, Io let his muzzle rest in her palm with a soft sigh, as though finally finding the place he belonged. It made Jupiter's heart melt.

“You're gonna be my good Io-boy, aren't you?”

“Oh boy,” Stinger huffed.

Jupiter straightened before leveling an amused look at her Head of Security. “Why don't you go make sure we have enough of the appropriate food for the newest members of my household?”

Stinger snorted a laugh before he saw her serious expression. He dropped his crossed arms and gave a minute bow. “As you wish,” he murmured before turning and walking out of the Receiving Room with his shoulders back.

At the familiar rejoinder from unfamiliar lips, Jupiter lifted a brow and watched him go before looking at Caine. Who was blushing and not meeting her eyes.

< _Sharing secrets, love?_ >

Caine’s blush deepened, but he didn't respond.

Jupiter rolled her eyes, briefly meeting Kiza's amused gaze before looking to the Matri. “Thank you for them. I'm sure they'll make a wonderful addition to my family. I've always loved dogs,” she added with a grin.

Caine coughed while Jupiter's grin widened.

The Matri glanced between them before her unsettled gaze landed on Jupiter. “Not good guard dogs for your household?”

Jupiter shrugged. “I'm sure they can do that just as well from a place at my side as opposed to on a leash. I’ve never understood the idea of pets a commodities – too many spoiled rich kids dumping pets with concierge when the poor thing didn't behave like they wanted.”

While everyone else sighed in commiseration and the Matri gave an approving nod, Io flopped down at her feet with a low, contented huff.

Jupiter stared down at him for a moment before noticing that the other four pups had already arranged themselves around her with Ganymede under her right hand and Callisto and Europa pressing against her calves from behind. Even her Skyjackers had settled back, secure in the knowledge that she had another layer of protection between her and any who threatened her.

“Huh,” Jupiter glanced over her left shoulder and met Caine's amused gaze. “Now that that's settled,” she turned to find her aunt Nino sitting on a comfortable sofa just a short distance away. “Where's my mother?”

* * *

The family rooms next to Jupiter's private wing were only a little smaller than her own, but just as luxurious. She found her mother in a small sunken garden sitting on the edge of a large stone fountain that could have doubled as a small pool.

There was a floating tray nearby heaping with food and an attendant standing in a discrete shadow at the top of the stair; invisible but near enough to hear any requests.

Jupiter wracked her brain to remember when she'd hired attendants for her family and recalled a brief précis about three or four secondary humans in the last group that had joined her on Callisto. Kara or Sara something? Sky would know the specifics. She gave a brief nod to the young woman when her eyes widened at the presence of four large wolves walking calmly beside her and motioned for Caine to stay at the top of the stair.

And because of the wolves, there was no hiding her entrance from her mother. Io clattered down the stairs like he was still figuring out how his legs worked, Europa bounced down them sideways, while Callisto bypassed them altogether by leaping from the top down. Only Ganymede beside her took the steps normally. Jupiter could swear the larger wolf rolled her eyes at the antics of her pack mates.

Jupiter watched as her mother’s eyes widened at the sight of the wolves and then softened at their puppyish antics. At least she wouldn't have to worry about great of dogs on her mother's part.

She approached slowly, and tentatively sat down on the lip of the fountain next to Aleska. They sat quietly for a few minutes with the tension slowly growing between them. Jupiter sighed, but when she opened her mouth her mother lifted a hand.

“Wait, please.”

Jupiter closed her mouth and waited.

It was only a few seconds later, though it felt like minutes, that Aleska started speaking. “Intellectually, I know you're a queen with responsibilities and people depending on you, but you're still my daughter.”

“No,” Jupiter shook her head. “I think that's the problem. In that situation, where I'm acting as Queen, I am not your daughter. I can't be _because_ of those people and responsibilities, not if I want to act with any kind of dignity.”

There was a quiet, tension filled moment between them while they watched the pups play in and around the water before Aleska asked, “So what are you saying?”

Jupiter didn't answer for a moment as she got her thoughts in order. Then she took a deep breath, “You'll always be my mother and I need you; I want your support and your opinion, especially when it comes to statistics and financials in the running of my holdings, but if you can't separate me being your daughter from me being your queen… then I think I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from coming to public meetings.”

“You want me to do nothing.”

It was a statement more than a question, but Jupiter answered it nonetheless. “It might be the hardest thing I ask you to do. And I understand if it takes all your strength because being impartial is not natural- for anyone. You'll always want to protect me, to do what's best for me. But the minute you do so in a public forum, you undermine me and everything I'm trying to do. So the less you do in those situations, the less you say or argue or question-”

“Or think? Or feel? Or breathe? Or exist?”

It was said sarcastically, but Jupiter knew she needed to hammer home the point, “-the better.”* When her mother didn't say anything, Jupiter turned to Aleska, “Please don't make me ban you from meetings. I _want_ you to be there, I want your opinion and your take on things, but I cannot have you making me look weak, not in front of these vampires. Not when they’ll use every weakness – perceived or otherwise – to destroy all that I am and all I hold dear. Please, _mamochka.”_

More than anything it was the plea that finally had Aleska turning to her daughter. “ _Moya dorogaya milaya devushka_ ,” she cupped Jupiter’s cheek with a trembling hand. “I will try to do my best by you. And if that means not going to some things, then that is what I'll do. All right?”

Jupiter heaved a heavy sigh and leaned into her mother's hand, covering it with her own. “Thank you, momma.”

Aleska nodded and, with a last pat, stood. “I think it best if I take these next couple of days to relax, hmm? I haven't touched the tea; I know you like it,” she said, gesturing to the floating tray. Then she walked away.

Jupiter watched a her mother slowly ascended the stair and greeted both Caine and the young woman before disappearing down the corridor, Kara or Sara following at a discrete distance. It's a long few moments that Jupiter just sits there, staring into the rippling water, deaf and blind to the rollicking pups around her. When she did finally reach for the tea that her mother somehow knew she liked without Jupiter having to say anything, her hand was shaking so much that the glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the stone floor. Jupiter stared at it. Then she reached for the second glass and let it drop.

She watched it make contact with the stone cobbles, watched the glass buckle and burst outward, watched the glistening fragments spread like a splash of water. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her pulse throbbing in her fingertips. There's a ringing in her ears over the roaring of her breath, and her vision was tunneling, pressing in on all sides and squeezing around her gasping lungs. Her eyes prickled with tears.

Something warm nudged under her hand. She turned to see Io, his soulful brown eyes looking at her while distressed whines escaped his throat.

This is what breaks her. Io's animal innocence and quiet concern tipped her over the edge and Jupiter slowly collapsed forward, curving herself over his strong head, curling her arms tightly around his neck as harsh sobs burst out of her. A throb slowly built on her temples and the wracking breaths are painful in her lungs, but Io is warm and constant and this breakdown was a long time coming.  
Everything from the moment her cousin convinced her to harvest her eggs for money to now. Even knowing it was coming; her mother telling her that they need space was the last straw.

She vaguely registered movement in her peripheral, knew it must be Caine, but could spare no thought for him. She hiccupped, air catching in her throat as she ducked her head to press her face against the thick ruff of Io's neck. She stayed like that until her knuckles went white and her fingers numb, until her eyes itched with dryness instead of tears, until she could breathe steadily without the occasional spasm of sorrow. She stayed curled over Io's patient red form until Caine stepped over the broken shard of glass and squatted down in front of her. He wrapped a hand around her forearm, pulling her attention to him.

“I can't imagine the stress you're under,” Caine murmured with heart-wrenching sympathy in his eyes. “But _please.”_ Jupiter can see the emphasis he puts on the word. “Please,” Caine's other hand lifted to gently cup her cheek. “Let me help you.”

Jupiter can only drop her head onto Io's shoulder and weep. Caine stayed kneeling there, one hand on her forearm, the other curved around the back of her neck as he leaned forward to gently press his forehead to hers.

Jupiter had no idea how long they stayed like that, but Caine never wavered and the ache in her chest slowly began to subside.

A long time later, she staggered upright on legs that had long gone numb. Caine helps her across the courtyard and up the stairs where they find Stinger waiting just outside the door. Jupiter didn't consider how she looked until she saw Stinger’s eyes go wide.

He took a halting step forward, “Majesty?”

Some look or unspoken sign passed from Caine to him because he didn't press, only stepped back so that she could pass before following.

“Majesty, I found out from the Matri's attendants what the lycaoméro's eat and everything is set for the pups. I had Pasiphae put their bedding in the sitting room outside your bedroom. The Matri said they should stay close to you.”

“Thank you, Stinger,” Jupiter grimaced at how rough her voice sounded.

He gave a sharp nod before continuing with his report. “Metis has secured the grounds and I have Lieutenant Bicorn running patrols throughout the nearby area. Serjo is making sure your wing and the rooms of your family are completely safe. I have Kerr testing the security measures he and Metis have put into place.”

“Kerr?”

“Her specialty is site exploitation and infiltration. _If_ there’s a weakness in Serjo's defense she’ll find it,” he boasted. “Kylee is cooking up a storm set to feed the entire city, and Themisto is running both Leta and Leto through their paces. Maggie and Ananke have the kids and your attendants seeing to the change in uniforms for everyone in the palace, and Aranea is making sure the medical wing is up to her standards.”

Jupiter stopped at the door to her rooms – Caine dutifully stopped with her, although she was only marginally leaning on his arm at this point – and turned to face Stinger. “Why are you telling me all this?”

Stinger gave her a gentle smile. “So that you realize that everything is well in hand and there is nothing for you to do except relax.”

To Jupiter's shame, she felt her eyes prickle with tears for the second time within as many hours. If his horrified expression was anything to go by, he – like most men – had no idea how to deal with a woman crying, so she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, making him bend slightly so she wouldn't be tottering on her tiptoes to hug him.

“Thank you, Stinger,” she whispered in his ear. “I don't know what I’d do without you.”

A bare second later and Stinger’s fatherly instincts kicked in. He curved toward her, wrapping her up on his strong arms and patting her shoulders. “ _When you face difficulties, our skills are yours_ ,” he quoted. “It’s more than just a saying, Majesty. Especially with someone as precious to us as you have become.”

Jupiter squeezed harder before letting go and ducking her head to hide her tears.

He patted her shoulder again before giving her an unsubtle nudge toward her door. “Now go rest. I'll have Kylee send in a tray for lunch and we’ll see you at dinner. Negi will be stationed out here in the hall until after lunch and then Perrin will escort you to dinner.”

Jupiter wiped her cheeks, “You don't need to do that. Let them explore if they want.”

Stinger just patted her shoulder again before sending Caine a look.

Caine rolled his eyes before tugging on Jupiter's arm to get her moving, then huffed a quick “ _Hup!_ ” at the pups to get them into her private rooms before closing the door.

Jupiter crossed her arms a Caine went to inspect the new bedding, followed closely by Callisto and Europa. Io disappeared into the further rooms while Ganymede sat at Jupiter's right. “I noticed he didn't reassure me that he'd let Negi and Perrin off guard duty.”

Caine sent her a wary glance before knocking Europa away from leaning against his thigh. The gentle knock sent the clumsy puppy tumbling into Callisto, who took it as a challenge. Suddenly, both pups were careening and knocking into the walls and under the glaring furniture as they play-fought each other for dominance. When it got a little too rough, Ganymede charged into the middle the separate the two as well as assert her own dominance.

Caine walked back toward her, his wings tucked back and his hands hanging down by his sides as though he was afraid to frighten her.

“Stinger will rescind the order of you really don't want them there,” he offered. “But it would make us all feel better if they are watching over you.”

“I don't need to be coddled just because I cried,” she snapped and started toward the bedroom.

Caine didn't rise to the accusation, just lifted a brow in question. “Why not?”

She spun, caught flatfooted by the question, “What?”

“We’re perfectly willing to coddle you – you _should_ be petted and pampered after a cry like that – so why not let us?” he walked toward her until he was right in front of her.

Jupiter swallowed and lowered her head until she was staring at his chest. “Us?”

“Me,” Caine slowly put his arms around her until he could pull her forward so that she was leaning against his chest. “Let me take care of you, Majesty.”

She heaved a sigh and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Okay,” she breathed. “But first help me get them settled.”

And by 'them' Caine knew she meant the pups. As he glanced around the sitting room, he noticed one of them was missing. “Where did Io get off to?”

* * *

They found him a few minutes later tucked under the bed, which was a feat because Caine hadn’t known the hundred pound pup could squeeze into that small of a space.

“I hope you know what I’m doing,” Jupiter hissed as she wriggled a little further under the bed.

Caine fought the almost overpowering urge to shape his hand to the delicate curve of her hips. “Trust me, Majesty. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He wants to be held and touched and petted by you. At this point he just isn’t quite certain how to approach you, that’s all. You need to show him that you want it.”

Her back end stilled. “I'm sensing more to this statement than me just retrieving a frightened puppy.”

Caine grinned, “You sense correctly.”

“Caine,” she growled. “When I get out of here, I'm tying you to the bed. Face down.”

He sucked in a breath, aware that if she could see his eyes, they'd be black pools surrounded by a thin rim of pale blue. “I look forward to your efforts, Majesty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa! Over 100,000 words. What? How had this taken over my life?
> 
> Also. I am now writing on my phone as my computer has decided to give up the ghost. So please forgive if there are any glaring mistakes. I CAN'T ACTUALLY SEE THEM!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> Lastly. I see you, habitual commentators and random visitors. I DO actually read your posts and they spur me on. So keep writing them. Especially you, Sapph89. I so enjoy your comments, you have no idea.


	20. Penumbra: Part IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting settled on Ardentis and revealing some very interesting secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, believe it or not, we're actually starting to get into the meat of the story I have planned.

Jupiter startled awake by a shout. It took a moment for her to realize that it wasn’t her own nightmares, but Caine’s. He lay floating beside her in the grav-net above the big bed, sweating and panting as he thrashed in whatever nightmare had ahold of him. She reached out a tentative hand to touch his shoulder-

-only to find herself suddenly straddled and held below a snarling lycantant Skyjacker, wings arched menacingly, sharp feathers poised to slice and cut, one hand gripping her wrist hard, and the other on her throat. His teeth grazed the delicate flesh below her ear before he was ripping himself away from her and out of the anti-gravity hold of the bed with a powerful wingbeat. He landed with a loud crash.

She didn't even take a moment to breathe before she was throwing herself after him, commanding the bed off and lunging for the sweat-shined skin of his bare chest, dodging his half-hearted attempt to keep her away. Pitiful whines were escaping his throat, but she ignored them in favor of wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding on. It took only a moment before the whines were replaced with sobs and his hands stopped trying to push her away and started holding on tightly.

Jupiter sucked in a rattling breath before hooking one hand over the back of his neck and the other over the anchor of his wing, using the leverage to wrap her legs around his waist and hold on as he curled into her.

“Shh, my love,” she crooned in his ear between sucking sobs. “I’ve got you,” she murmured in a mirrored echo of the many times he’d soothed away her own fears.

She had no idea what his nightmare had been about… but she could guess. Being forced to tear out some man's throat. Being forced to forget it for nefarious political reasons of which he _still had no idea_. Thirteen years on a prison planet. Being tricked into hunting down the woman his Splicer had supposedly _made him for_. Any number of horrors he'd endured trying to save Jupiter from her genetic children's machinations. Having the memory of tearing out some man's throat shoved _back into_ his head by the very same Splicer he'd feared had come to put him down. Waking up from those nightmares to find himself about to tear out the throat of one he loved? Any one of those things was enough to give a normal man psychological issues for the rest of his life. How Caine dealt with all of them so well could only be attributed to his spliced DNA and the distinct animal ability to _move on_. Jupiter couldn't imagine any normal person so well adjusted as to just roll these sorts of things off unless they were sociopathic; and Caine was obviously not.

“Darling,” she murmured while subtly rocking them both. “If you won't talk to me about it-” she shushed him when he started to protest. “-if not me, because you're trying to protect me and I understand that, really I do, then someone. Stinger, Corrine even because that's ze's job. Or hell, Rufus if you think he could understand and empathize with you. But someone. Please.”

It was a long, quiet moment before he whispered, “Not Stinger.”

And Jupiter understood. Things between Caine and her Head of Security were getting better but were still a bit rocky after Stinger’s betrayal, despite Caine – and even Jupiter – understanding that he'd give any and everything for Kiza, it was hard to trust with something so personal. For the same reason, she didn't think he would go to Corrine because Caine was zer's superior. So she made a mental note to send Caine to Rufus once they were back on Máti. Neither of them were a stranger to nightmares and the sleepless nights that followed, but she’d lock Caine and Rufus in a room together of it meant she wouldn't have to hear him whimper and cry like this again anytime soon.

Stifled sobs gave way to subdued hiccups while Caine slowly got himself under control and stuffed the horrors of his nightmare into the back of his mind where he could take it out later and examine it to the full content of his subconscious.

The room was relatively cool despite the oppressive heat soaked up by the sun-seared stones of the palace. Here, more than anywhere else she’s seen in the palace, showed the influence of her Keepers for her tastes. The floor was cool, polished sandstone in rosy pinks, golden yellows, and warm browns, carved and set in a hexagonal parquet that imitated a beehive in lovely, geometric patterns interspersed with inlaid gold and obsidian bees dancing in random patterns. The floating chandeliers were all molded from amber and gilded in gold. The bed and bedside tables were carved from warm, rosy wood, as were the desk and floating chair tucked in front of the wall of shelves which were filled with a collection of books, some of which she recognized from her growing personal library. A table hung from the ceiling near the open balcony, several cozy looking stools tucked underneath. Out on the balcony was her brass telescope and a comfortable three-footed stool. Scattered artfully around the room were statuettes of various figures from Earth’s religions; her favorite being a two-foot marble copy of _Leda and the Swan_ that was tucked against one of the pillars leading outside. Carefully placed to catch the light were several glass vases and bowls in jewel-bright colors, often filled with fruit or, as the case of the one on her desk where she would do most of her reading, candies.

The rosy light from outside said it was still early in the evening. There was a tray floating by the bed with the remnants of their lunch. She and Caine had both fallen into a brief nap after eating and tumbling around on the new bed. She'd made good on her promise to tie him down face-first, and they both thoroughly enjoyed the literal tongue-lashing she'd given him. Jupiter particularly enjoyed teasing his sensitive spots until he was squirming and dripping pre-cum all over the coverlet. But that had been hours ago and though she could feel the slight cramp of hunger Jupiter had no urge to move from her position atop Caine on the floor. His growing interest signaled his approval with the position as well. When she made no move to evade his hardening cock, but instead settled firmly over it, he lifted his face from her neck to catch her in a searing, hungry kiss. Caine's hands caught and guided Jupiter's jaw, effortlessly finding the perfect angle after so many months.

Nipping at Jupiter's lower lip and then sucking at her tongue when he was allowed entrance, Caine pushed forward, tipping them until her back touched the floor and he molded to her front. He let one hand rest on the floor next to Jupiter's head while the other slid into her hair to angle her head just how he wanted. His thumb stroked the sensitive skin behind her ear, his touch gentle where his mouth was demanding, until she felt like purring. Jupiter's eyes had long since fallen shut, her thoughts going still except for those processing what she was feeling, so she was almost startled when Caine finally settled completely over her so that they were touching from shoulder to thigh. When she broke for breath – tipping her head back, eyes still closed – and shifted beneath him, she ended up with a heel hooked over his calf and left it there with the vain hope of keeping that man exactly where he was.

When Caine rolled his hips, it was both too much and not enough.

“Bed, Caine,” Jupiter still had the ability for words, because she always did. Only when Caine was in danger, or doing brash, heroic things, or staring longingly into her eyes did she lose the ability to talk coherently.

Nuzzling up under her jaw and sucking lightly at the skin for a moment, he asked, “What’s wrong with the floor?”

Jupiter's hands were still clutching his shoulder and the anchor of his wing, her knuckles white where she’d pressed fingertips hard into skin. She imagined she could feel his life force leeching through her from the contact, and she was struck by the urge to _touch everywhere_. “N-nothing,” she gasped out the answer, only after a long moment of thinking the answer but forgetting how her vocal chords worked because Caine's hand had slipped under the folds of the Coelura she wore to bed and was rubbing small circles over her hip while lazily moving down and in.

“You'll forget the floor,” Caine promised in a low whisper, and Jupiter believed him.

The two rolled and squirmed, Caine manhandling her, but Jupiter hardly cared. He kept his vow; Jupiter hardly paid any attention to the floor while he ravaged her mouth and curled his hands around her possessively, pulling her impossibly closer. Even while Jupiter found herself overwhelmed, she was coherent enough to note that Caine was coming a bit unstrung; kissing harder and grabbing tighter. That made her toes curl and a pleased shiver travel up her spine even as Caine started pulling the Coelura off by catching folds of the living fabric and tugging until he found bare skin. All she could do was gasp as her nerve-endings picked up all the skin-on-skin contact and sent it in waves up to her brain.

Jupiter had seen Caine be fierce and demanding (finally), loving and gentle. Over the months they'd gotten to know each others' bodies quite well; how they liked to touch, how they liked to be touched. _This_ was something different. The physical desperation of someone who needed a reminder that they were both safe and living. The way he curled his body around her instantly spoke of a possessiveness that went beyond shallow ownership. And even when Jupiter had to pause and catch her breath, Caine continued the insatiable worship of the slim body beneath with his mouth and hands, dancing his fingertips along her ribs, sucking and lathing her skin with his mouth, nipping when she grew complacent.

At any other time, Jupiter might have said it was too much. But this was Caine, and if he’d been anything but overwhelming while making love, she wouldn’t have recognized him. So with him pressing down on her and mouthing at her throat, Jupiter relaxed for what felt the first time in a millennia, and let her mind sink into the fact that this was the safest place she could be right now. Delight buzzed in her brain, sparking and spreading with every unexpected scrape of his teeth or the stubble of his jaw. Jupiter’s fingers skimmed over flexing, coiled muscles in return, feeling the iron strength in his biceps, the flat planes of his chest, the broad curvature and strong muscles of his back and shoulders.

In some part of her mind, Jupiter had always imagined that Caine becoming unhinged would be a rather frightening experience, what with all of his less reputable skills, and the fact that she was only trained in self-defense in the mildest sense. But it was hard to be afraid of the man looming over her when that same man spoke like he’d take down entire _worlds_ for his Queen.

Suddenly Caine rumbled out between kisses, his voice a lot rougher than Jupiter expected, “Stars, how long I’ve wanted you like this, Your Majesty, beneath me, on the floor. All of you. _Everything.”_ The words went straight to her womb, and she arched reflexively, curling her body upwards, seeking the contact that those heated words promised.

Because being a tease was clearly in the lycantant's nature, he continued to keep just enough distance so that she wasn’t getting the friction she wanted, and when a (totally involuntary) needy noise twisted up Jupiter's throat, Caine leaned his head up to nip at the underside of her jaw. The chuckle felt like it throbbed right through her sternum. “I’ve had the damnably professional image of you as a haughty Entitled in my head for weeks, your stroppy looks whenever someone does something that you disapprove of,” he continued unstoppably, leaning up to once again press their mouths together, swallowing the next needy noise that she made. “But then you go and threaten my Matri for doing something _normal-!”_ Caine's growl broke out between kisses, and he dropped his head forward so that she could both hear and feel the warm huff of breath before he pushed himself up and away.

And that was a sight to see.

Kneeling up with his weight on his knees and feet, he pulled Jupiter's legs up over his tensed thighs. He looked like some sort of back-alley war-god. The early evening light from outside was warm and rosy, but against Caine's pale tones, it seemed to limn him in warmth, gilding his perfect edges. Above all, however, there was the stark _vitality_ of him. Caine was a livewire, a storm in a bottle, and it was as if the gleaming bronze wings arching up behind him were merely a frame on his shell – minor things that didn’t have a hope of really adding to him. Lying back, still panting, she just continued to stare even as he leaned back just enough to twist, and toss the clinging, color changing Coelura as far as he could fling it.

Caine's growl was such an incredibly frustrated sound when the fabric didn't go a far as he meant it to that Jupiter just started laughing. She was still unbelievably turned-on, but the helplessly amused sounds just escaped out of her lungs as if they couldn’t help themselves.

Caine, of course, shut her up by kissing her again, rough and long and deep like he wanted to devour her, and Jupiter's mind once again went blank with the utter onslaught of sensation. Suddenly, it seemed that Caine was just as far gone as she was, barely keeping enough of his weight lifted on his arms so that he didn’t crush the breath out of her. Jupiter doubted she would have minded if he did – head spinning from kissing and not breathing, all she wanted right now was more of him pressed against her. The weight of Caine was so solid, so unshakable, that it felt like Jupiter had been floating adrift all her life, and someone had finally managed to peg her to the ground.

 _“Yes…yes,_ please” she gasped out, unaware that she was even speaking, her eyes fluttering closed as one of Caine's callused hands finally slid between them. He didn’t touch her where she wanted him, merely skimmed over her flat belly as if to feel it pant and heave, but the light touch was like Caine’s voice: rife with an undercurrent of promises.

Caine pressed softer kisses to her jawline and cheekbone, finally kissing right up against her temple, pushing Jupiter's head to one side with the steady force of it. She paid him back by tangling her hands in the short hair at the back of his skull, the strands almost soft now with a hint of curl because he hadn’t cut it since before he'd met her. For a brief second, her brain stuttered back on again, recalling grimmer things, but Caine's kisses became possessive bites again, sucking at her skin until the thought was pulled away. His hand slid lower down her stomach, one finger catching in her navel, while his other fingers splayed out and pressed down, so close to Jupiter's cunt that she succumbed to a full-body shiver before he covered her center with his hand.

Like a flame licking along a branch, Caine curled forward, pressing kisses to Jupiter's throat, between her breast to her stomach, no doubt feeling the fluttering muscles even as he leisurely moved his way further down. It was a teasing counter to the storm of pleasure he was creating with the slow presses of his hand, snug against her dripping cleft. Jupiter found herself squirming against the dual sensations, not sure which to press into but wanting all of them, pressing her knees to his sides and locking her feet behind his back.

“You’re always such a surprise, my Queen,” he growled against the soft skin just above her mons when his kisses brought him there. The professional term combined with the carnal position had her shivering and her eyes fluttering open to meet his. The quick flash of his smile was full of mischief and the sliver of blue around Caine's blown pupils was a wicked ring of sapphire color; eyes as intensely blue and sharply burning as frostbite – Caine was made of contradictions that way. Eyes like ice but body-heat like a kiln; a public persona so detached that he barely seemed to feel anything, until someone threatened Jupiter and suddenly he felt the need to tear and render. It was terrifying and it was comforting, and she stopped thinking about it when a finger split her nether lips and plunged deep.

Caine, playing the unconcerned bystander (as if he had nothing to do with this, and was totally innocent), murmured even as Jupiter's startled, exhilarated breath cursed him, “You’re a puzzle, and I’m going to take you apart. I’m going to figure you out…” A deft finger slid tantalizingly around the tight ring of inner muscles, her juices smoothing the way even as his calluses added a delicious friction that had her shuddering and panting. The panting became a soft moan as he started pressing that finger up against the spongy softness of her g-spot, matching the maddening slowness of his nuzzling kisses to her mons as he continued to promise, “…Inch, by inch.”

Jupiter breathed out a soft, reverent-sounding curse as her body twitched and shuddered around the intrusion. Her eyes had closed again, and Caine nipped one hip bone as if in praise before dropping his chin and covering her cleft with his mouth. Rockets of sensation burst through Jupiter's skull as his rough tongue moved slowly over her swollen clit, dipping lower and pushing inside so that his mouth was saturated with her honey and lemon, fire and smoke. As always, the flavor of her burst upon his senses like a riot of color and smell and feeling until all of him was wrapped up in her. He wanted to roll in her, coat himself in her essence and leave his own behind until he couldn’t tell the difference between them. He spent an eternity chasing the tart sweetness of her climax until she was writhing beneath him, so swollen and sensitive that he could breathe out against her flesh and watch it quiver with echoed pulses of orgasm.

She was pulling at his hair, clawing his shoulders, arching down to him and then falling back against the floor like she had no control over her own body. Leaving a finger stroking slowly in her cunt, he climbed back up her body, stopping briefly to tease her belly button and watch her stomach quiver and then feast for a moment at the soft mounds of her breasts, taking in their swollen peaks and laving at them until they were sharp points that pressed against his chest when he reached her throat and chin.

He lifted his hand from her cleft to briefly cradle the side of Jupiter's jaw, angling her for a fierce kiss that melted like heated gold between them, and she was dizzyingly aware that he was undoubtedly spreading her own slick on her cheek. Then she gasped and swore as he lowered his hand and lapped at the side of her face as if hungry to clean it all away. The inhale and the swearing swiftly turned to far louder invocations as his free hand once again found its way to her pussy and began caressing it expertly again, flushing her with hot waves of pleasure as the one finger was joined by another, the delicious stretching blotted out everything else.

“God, _Caine!”_ she choked out as he suddenly brushed a spot inside of her that had everything tripling in intensity, sparks flying up her spine and making her body all but curl in on itself.

The combined sensations ratcheted up Jupiter’s pleasure like plugging her nerve-endings into a light-socket, and she arched as much as she could. Caine’s pure bulk seemed to wrap around her, controlling and enclosing everything, and the pure safety of that feeling left her shuddering and gasping as she temporarily came back down again. His cock was still painfully stiff, brushing her stomach and painting it in pre-cum, but that all meant nothing as she met his eyes again: that look was so intense, like Jupiter had hung the sun and moon, and all Caine wanted to be was the sky that wrapped around them both.

“Caine…” she whispered, sliding her hands from his shoulders up around his throat to his head. He allowed the gesture, despite how most lycantants would see it as a vulnerability to have any hands on their necks, and turned his head to bite playfully at the inside of her wrist. When Jupiter's fingers pulled at his hair, however, he let himself be tugged down into a kiss, his tongue exploring her mouth as soon as his Queen let him in.

His fingers withdrew from her body slowly, making Jupiter mewl and frown against the truly wonderful kiss he was sharing, but then she felt the blunt head of his cock nudging against her entrance. Jupiter twitched, excited and suddenly nervous all over again, but when she started fidgeting impatiently, Caine stroked a hand along her thigh soothingly. His other arm came up to brace against the floor alongside her shoulder, close and snug, skin-to-skin, and somehow even his kiss took on a gentling feel. Instead of being ravenous and demanding as he’d been up ‘til now, Caine took his time, hips pushing forward slowly, until every luxurious inch was sheathed in her lush depths. She broke the kiss to gasp just as the head of his cock pushed up against the mouth of her cervix before he was pulling out and pushing back in with patient force.

“All right, Majesty?” Caine’s voice was slightly strained, head hanging so close to hers that their lips still brushed as he spoke. The hand near Jupiter’s shoulder took to absently rubbing at the curve of lean muscle and bone – reminding her of his idle habit of touching her whenever he felt he could get away with it.

Jupiter took a breath, and then gripped the back of his neck. Hard. “If you don’t _fuck me right now-_ ”

She never got to finish her threat.

* * *

 

Nearly half an hour later, Caine landed on the floor beside her with a flop; his muscles too worn and some still spasming too hard to help him land with his usual grace. Jupiter exhaled a silent chuckle, convinced her throat wouldn’t work for a while from all the screaming she had done while caught on his knot. They were both still reeling from the orgasmic high, panting hard while they both came down.

After a few minutes of listening to them both breathe, sweat, cool down and watch the light slowly fade from the open windows, Jupiter blindly reached out a hand until it met warm skin. Warm fingers closed around hers and she sighed, a small, pleased smile on her lips when he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers.

When his light kisses turned to delicate suckling, she moaned, “We have to go to dinner soon, or they’ll all wonder what’s happened to me.”

Caine chuckled around her fingertips, licking the pads before letting go. “And knowing our luck, they’ll storm in on us in full cry.”

She snorted.

It was another moment before he turned, put hands to the floor, arched his back and extended his wings in a stretch that would make any yogi proud. He held it for a minute before reversing the arch and balanced on the tips of his fingers and toes, using his wings for balance. Then in a move she considered unfairly cheating, he beat his wings once, twice and lifted up until he was standing.

When he looked down at her, his eyes glowed with a fierce hunger. Jupiter shivered. His eyes sharpened, dilating as he noticed her skin flushing, her nipples pebbling and her thighs unconsciously rubbing together to ease the sudden ache between them. The blue of his eyes so intense that she could see it even in the dim light of the early evening. The amber-colored lamplight dappled on the flexing muscles of that marvelously strong body, and sweat gleamed on his skin until he looked gilded. His genitals hung heavily between his thighs, and he was so perfectly, utterly male that her chest constricted, making it difficult for her to breathe. As he stared at her, his shaft began to stir, to grow thick and long, to rise fiercely toward his belly.

Damn him, she thought feverishly. A more graphic demonstration of desire wasn't possible. Nothing was so seductive as knowing that you were wanted, and he knew that. The potent reaction of his body to simply looking at her did things to her willpower. Her gaze went irresistibly to his erection and she felt herself literally grow weak. Her mouth began to water, and she swallowed convulsively.

“Maybe,” she had to swallow again to clear the sudden blockage in throat. “Maybe a shower?”

He lifted a brow. “Are you asking me, my Queen?”

She almost moaned aloud. In a universe of immortals and lycantants, she was just a girl looking to get fucked. Hard. “Take me to the shower, Caine. And then fuck me against the wall.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he growled in satisfaction before scooping her up from the floor.

* * *

 

Dinner was a late, easy affair with only her family and close attendants. Her Skyjackers circled in and out of the dining room as they did some sort of training exercise. Caine made a point of putting her in her seat, grabbing a quick bite of food at her insistence, before joining them on their rounds. As always, when she was in a public setting, she had at least two of her bewinged protectors with her at all times, starting with Negi and Perrin who were just finishing up their shift.

“I’ll be back when you’re ready to retire for the night,” Caine promised between gulps of spice tea, one cheek stuffed with food. Then he dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder and darted out of the room after Hone.

The dress she chose for the evening was high-necked (for reasons), bare at the shoulders and connected to sleek sleeves by fluttering fabric attached at the back of her shoulders like wings. The bodice was ruched and embroidered with gold thread and black crystals that she’d overheard Maggie say were diamonds but she refused to believe it. Jupiter like the dress because it was super comfortable, but also because it was a bronze color that matched Caine’s feathers, and long. The dress brushed the floor with an elegant flutter and trailed after her a good foot. All without collecting dirt and debris like she thought it might (space fabric was weird) or tripping her when she turned because her comfy slippers were weirdly demagnetized to repel the dress. Where had this technology _been_ all her life?

The meal was Kylee showcasing all the different types of delicacies this part of the universe, and this world in particular, had to offer. From baked tarts that held spicy meats, carbonated candied flowers that glowed with starlight, meats that tasted like honeyed pears, and fruits that tasted of smoke and chocolate and coffee. Kylee outdid herself, if the satisfied faces of those who knew what they were eating were any indication.

Jupiter ate sparingly, not because she didn’t enjoy the food, but because she just wasn’t that hungry. She was a little nervous about the day after tomorrow, and about the party that Kalique insisted she attend. While the people around her enjoyed their meal and relaxed in their new home, Jupiter quietly fell apart about meeting Titus face to face. She wasn’t sure what she would do when she saw him again; if she would ignore him, like she wanted to give the impression that he didn’t matter one bit to her, or if she would order Caine to kill him on sight like she had imagined so many times.

And that was when her aunt Nino sat down beside her. “Jupiter, dear. You seem upset.”

“I do?” Jupiter blinked at her aunt before glancing around warily, wondering if everyone thought she must be worried about something.

“Oh, not outwardly, dear,” Nino waved away her concern. “But I can tell.”

“You can?”

Nino nodded, a gentle smile on her face, but it was more a statement than a question. “Family can always tell,” Nino stated sagely.

And Jupiter just stared at her aunt, wondering what was different about her. Because something was different, she just couldn’t tell what right away. Her hair was still a small cloud of tight gray curls, though they’d obviously been styled, cut and colored a bit. Her clothing was the most obvious change; she actually wore clothes that fit, and fit well, with cuts that accentuated her curves and colors that made the best of her eyes. Her face was still round with weight and age, but not as much as when she’d also been exhausted everyday from working a thankless job. Being able to cook and care for oneself had obviously helped her aunt trim a little of the unhealthy fat she’d carried for years. Jupiter wondered if the wealth she was freely offering her mother and aunt agreed with them, though she hadn’t worried about that with them as much as she had with Vladie.

“Are you happy, Aunt Nino?” Jupiter asked, suddenly curious and realizing that she hadn’t sat down and spoken to her aunt like they used to when she was younger.

Nino beamed. “Ecstatic, my dear. Yes? Absolutely over the moon,” she punned and then chortled to herself over it. “How many political scientists can boast encountering an entire universe of millennia-old unexamined politics? And I’m related to the one Entitled determined to change all that? I can’t wait, dear. Can’t wait, eh? I’ve been brushing up of sheaves of their laws, you know.”

“No,” Jupiter blinked, cupping her chin in her hand as she leaned forward and listened to her aunt gush. “I didn’t know.”

“Well, I am not surprised, what with you learning how to navigate through it all. But yes, I have been learning the ins and outs. That Static fellow is very helpful, yes? Always bringing me new treatises on laws. I think I have learned about a new law and the history of why it was enacted into law every day since we got to Callisto, starting with what they call the Commandments; a set of twenty-five laws and moral codes that govern their everyday lives. The com-plants are ever so helpful with recall, you know.”

“That I did know,” She murmured, not about to interrupt now that Nino was on a roll.

“Were you aware that their Commandments are tied up with an old Ores religion? Something about a Mother Goddess that watches over her children. The Commandments are her stipulations to allow them to keep being prosperous and prolific.”

“What are the Commandments?” Jupiter asked, scouring her memory of the Code Conduct Guide for any Commandments.

“Oh, that is the best part – they do not really know.” Nino beamed like it was Christmas. “The originals are written in a forgotten language and they only have the High Priestess’ written interpretation in an old language that loses something in translation. So they do not actually know what the original Commandments are, only the interpretations!”

Jupiter blinked.

Nino went on to extol the virtues of a good translation when a language was virtually extinct, and while a dependency on the ancient texts were often discouraged as commentaries are frequently conjectural, some scholars argue that using younger texts is inadvisable because the risk of misinterpretation is real but such dependencies are necessary.

“Yeah,” Jupiter commented when her aunt stopped with a questioning look. “I got dead language and dodgy translations.”

Nino blinked, then smiled charmingly. “Close enough.”

“So what does that mean for me?”

“Specifically? Not much,” Nino shrugged. “But beyond a basic mantra of ‘Good thoughts, good words, good deeds,’ and ‘there is only one path and that path is Truth,’ it is mostly saying that you should ‘do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, and then all good things will come to you.’ But there is a line that comes up again and again, so I memorized it because it seemed important. ‘Be among those who renew the world… to make the world progress towards perfection’.”

Jupiter tilted her head as something about that rang like déjà vu.

“I know,” At Jupiter’s look, Nino nodded like she’d agreed with something. “It struck me as a funny thing to have repeated in a list of laws, so I did some research with Static’s help… he found me some sheaves on Ora, the High Priestess of the First Temple, the one who did the original translations. And near as I could find, the actual adage goes ‘Be with the one who will renew the world… the one who will come again and again to make progress towards perfection’.” And then she gave Jupiter a significant look.

But Jupiter wasn’t listening. There was a buzzing roar in her ears. The sharp _crack!_ of a whip over the strange brassy sound of a spear crashing against a shield. She had the sense of weight on her shoulders, bearing her forward, before a hand on her wrist brought her blinking back into the present to see Nino looking at her worriedly.

“Are you all right?”

Jupiter blinked, “Yes, of course.” _Ora, High Priestess of the First Temple… the one who will come again and again._ Now why did that strike a chord? “Aunt Nino, can I ask you something?”

“You can always ask, Jupiter,” Nino leaned a little closer. “Truth be told, I have missed our discussions, my niece.”

“Me, too,” she grinned before turning serious. “Can I get copies of those Commandments? In the original language?”

Nino lifted her brows. “Of course. I will send it over tonight.”

“Thank you,” Jupiter smiled.

“But I think I have earned the right to know, my niece.”

Jupiter blinked before looking into her aunt’s eyes. It was then she realized what was so different about her. Her glasses with the little beaded strings were gone. She was looking directly into her aunt’s eyes. “You got your eyes fixed?”

Nino looked startled before a pleased smile spread across her face, lighting it up in a way Jupiter hadn’t seen in a very long time. “I did. Aranea Strand has some amazing medical technology. She gave me a gel that slowly repaired the elasticity in my corneas.”

“That’s fantastic,” Jupiter grinned. Her happiness buoyed by the simple joy of her aunt being able to see again without the use of her glasses.

“Yes,” Nino grinned, pleased, before her faced turned serious again. “Now tell me what has happened.”

Jupiter’s eyes widened slightly before she glanced around to see if anyone had overheard. She met the sharp eyes of Negi, her ever-present shadow. He and Perrin had been relieved about an hour ago by Serjo and Slate. Despite being technically ‘off duty’ she knew he stayed within sight of her for more than her own good. Negi was protecting her against even her own family, which included her Aunt Nino, as far as he knew. She gave him a soft smile and gestured toward the food with her chin, knowing, as she did, that he likely hadn’t eaten yet. He gave her a sheepish grin and grabbed the nearest piece of food; a strange reddish orange fruit that resembled an avocado but tasted like white grapes and lavender. When she looked back to her aunt, Nino was leaning back, a shrewd look on her face.

“That is part what I am curious about.”

“My Skyjackers?” Jupiter lifted a brow, but inwardly she was remembering how sharp-witted and clever her aunt could be when she had a particular goal in mind.

“Do not be coy,” Nino shook a finger at her. And then stated bluntly, “I am not your mother. I do not ask because I am jealous-”

“Jealous!” Jupiter interrupted, and then looked contrite. She knew where she’d learned an irritation for interruptions, and it wasn’t from her mother who regularly argued _over_ her brother Vassily and his wife.

_“Izvini, tetya.”_

“All this power; do not let it go to your head, huh?” Nino harrumphed and shook her head. “Yes. Your mother is jealous. But she has never had to share you so much. Then suddenly, you are out in the world, the universe? And you are a grown woman, a Queen and more than she could ever be or hope for you to be and, _pfft,_ she has missed you growing up. When did that happen? While we were sleeping, yes?”

Jupiter felt her spine stiffen at the accusation, subtle as it was. “So that justifies her actions?”

“No,” But Jupiter had gotten more that her sense of irritation from her aunt. She’d gotten her spine, too. “No, of course not,” Nino stared hard at her niece. “Merely explains where she is coming from. And you can understand that, yes?”

“Understand? Yes. Excuse?” Jupiter nodded, her mouth pulled down in a frown. “I don’t know.”

Nino nodded. “That’s understandable, too.”

Jupiter looked at her aunt, and saw the kind of strength and understanding she wished her mother could offer as easily. “Why is it so difficult between us?”

“You’re too much like you father, my niece, and it both saddens and gladdens her heart for you to be so. But it also worries your mother.”

“Do _you_ think I’ll end up like father? My head too far in the stars to see the danger in front of my face?”

Nino turned to look at her niece, her shrewd gaze piercing in a way that Jupiter hadn’t felt since she hit puberty and had asked Nino about her father for the last time. “I think you have too much of your mother’s intelligence to let your head get too far into the stars without letting your feet first find firm plant on the ground.”

Jupiter stared for a long moment before giving half a smile. Then she reached forward and took her aunt’s hand. “I think I need your help, Aunt Nino.”

Nino smiled, “I’ve been waiting for you to ask, my niece.”

* * *

 

The next morning started early for Jupiter and Caine. The latter up with the first streaks of light across the sky and the former with a grin and a hum of pleasure as he sank between her legs to break his nightly fast.  
After a shower and being dressed and coifed by Adrastea and Amalthea, she had a string of short meetings and audiences, mostly from what Themisto called ‘under-Entitled,’ landowners and wealthy merchants beholden to the Houses and Dynasties that controlled the planet, and that was solely Her Majesty, Queen Jupiter Maxine Bolotnikov Jones, Second Prime of House Brasax, and current Guardian of Ardentis. Tribute, glad tidings, promises of loyalty that Caine rolled his eyes at, and even complaints and one or two dozen warrants in need of her signature. All the while, her Skyjackers stood watch and her sapieoméros lounged around like particularly intimidating guard dogs. Whenever one of the under-Entitled took impropriety a step too far, thinking to intimidate the ‘Barbarian Queen’ who didn’t really know their ways, Caine would give a low _chuff_ after smelling Jupiter’s irritation and watch in approval while Europa and Callisto startled circling whoever had annoyed their new Alphas. The only outlier was Representative Camo Tae, who wanted nothing but seemed to watch the new Queen and retinue with a chary eye and an amused smirk. Apparently the running of a planet was like everything else, a slew of red tape and people wanting for themselves. Jupiter bore it with a mild sort of amusement that lasted her through to a late breakfast and into her meeting with Jake Static and his regular updates on all her holdings and legal affairs.

Before lunch she had a meeting with Stinger, Captain Fang Wen, and her present Lieutenants about security concerns on planet and for the coming weeks while she traveled to and from Ardentis and Máti. They agreed that wherever she went, her Skyjacker’s went with her, along with a contingent of ground troops and a handful of her best pilots ready with five Zeros to protect her at a moment’s notice. Jupiter wondered about over-kill, but the minute she met Caine’s eyes, she remembered his desperate plunge through a war hammer blockade to save her from Titus. And then she wondered if it would be enough.

Lunch itself was another light affair, with Maggie showcasing the last of her uniform designs for Jupiter’s people. It was an incredible thing she’d done; creating an entire look for a new household in just a few weeks. And what a look; each of them wore clothing fitted and suited to their station in unrelenting black, from the footmen to her Skyjackers, in fancy dress or layered in articulated armor. All of it made from a super high-tech dilatant polymer that was nigh indestructible and had rather unusual protective qualities. While the material seemed reasonably supple to the touch and soft enough to use in all of her dresses, it reacted to sudden force with equal resistance protecting the wearer better than steel plating. Nothing short of a plasma grenade, cutting lasers or, oddly enough, obsidian cutting tools, could damage the stuff, and anything powerful enough to do that would destroy the wearer. And all of it embossed with her tribal Queen Bee insignia in bright, gleaming gold.

The style was distinctly Earthen, flavored in the Imperial Russian style of the late 1800 and early 1900s AE, with double-breasted vests, high collars and square necklines, long flowing gowns with a bit of a train, knee-high boots, fitted trousers, wide belts and long, flared Czarist coats. All of it black with colorful embroidered edges gilded to look like honeycomb and dripping semi-precious amber drops. Something the gyre had never seen in an Ores House before. Jupiter would be making waves.

She’d make waves, anyway, being the ‘Barbarian Queen’ with a long list of orphaned contracts and predator splices for her entourage but at least now she’d do it dressed in the splendor and elegance an Entitled Queen of her station required.

After lunch was a session with Nino in her private Receiving Room, going over the laws and fine tuning her understanding of the political waters she would now be swimming through.

Kalique; having taken over most of Balem’s business dealings within the Nakshatra, was second only to Empress Djinna Aurum of House deCaelo, sole controller of the Sargon Hordes and once competitor and closest friend of Seraphi Abrasax for many centuries. That last bit, and the knowledge of just how many favors owed to Seraphi and her inheritor from the Empress, Jupiter kept to herself. That was something her aunt didn’t need to know just yet, or ever.

Because of the rapid changes within House Abrasax – apparently two successions within a thousand years of each other was rapid – it was incredibly important for Kalique’s Ascension Ceremony to go off without a hitch. According to Nino, Balem had only _just_ solidified his power base after the horrific murder of Seraphi. Jupiter wondered at it not being common knowledge yet that Balem had been the one to murder his mother, if the Aegis was keeping that bit of knowledge close to the chest for some reason. Of a surety, Kalique knew; she’d said as much in their one and only face-to-face communique since Balem’s death, but Jupiter wondered if she’d made Titus aware. Next in power were the First Primes of the handful of Dynasties in the known universe. Jupiter wasn’t sure what to make of the knowledge that of the thousands of Houses out there, only a handful truly held power. Nino, of course, was ecstatic, comparing it to France just before the French Revolution with the wealth of the known world held in the pockets of a handful of people before the guillotine put an end to the aristocracy as they knew it.

Jupiter glanced sideways at Caine who smirked at her, surreptitiously rubbing her neck, before returning the subject to the lines of succession. Jupiter was actually rather far away from the throne, if you counted the number of people in line for it. Being Second Prime of the second most powerful Dynasty meant she had a lot of standing, but not a lot of actual power. That was both good, and bad, for Jupiter. Good, because it meant that not many people would be threatened by her rapid rise beyond those she’d already interacted with; namely Kalique and Titus. But it was bad for her long-term plans of changing the universe’s reliance on people-juice for their longevity and it brought home the reality of the monumental task she’d set for herself. She wouldn’t be able to just take Regen-X away and make people stop using it. She’d have to create something else in it’s stead that would achieve the same results without the loss of life, or the demand for people-juice would never go away.

And that thought sparked a memory.

“Caine?”

“Yes, Majesty?”

“Would you bring my special chest here, and summon Matri Howland?”

Caine visibly hesitate at the mention of the chest, and then frowned at the mention of his Matri, before shaking himself. “As you wish, Majesty.” He gave a pointed look to Negi and then another to Kerr before he took off with a flutter of wings. Negi gave a quick bow toward Jupiter before fluttering off in the opposite direction. Since Caine had obviously been headed towards her private wing, Jupiter assumed Negi had been given the task of hunting down the Matri.

Jupiter turned to Kerr at her feet. “Summon Stinger, and when they get here, you and Negi step outside and make sure no one interrupts us. All right?”

Kerr tipped her head sideways in that way that said she was silently communicating with her commanding officer before offering Jupiter a quick nod. “Done, ma’am.”

“Thank you, Kerr.”

Throughout that conversation, Nino had sat quietly. “Should I leave as well?”

“No,” Jupiter smiled. “I asked for your help last night. This is what I’m going to need your help with.”

Curious, Nino leaned forward. “It has something to do with the Soylent Green?”

Jupiter stared for a moment before that movie reference clicked, and then she barked out a laugh. “Yes, Aunt Nino. I’m sad to say that it does.”

Nino gave a sharp nod before settling back in her seat to finish studying the sheave on the production policies surrounding Regen-X and its manufacture.

Caine returned first, having known exactly where the case was. He set it gently on the settee beside Jupiter before settling on the floor in front of her, nudging Kerr out of the way as he did. Kerr rolled to the edge of the dais, flopping to the floor like a wet blanket and resting there like she hadn’t a care in the world, though Jupiter knew she’d likely palmed a throwing dagger in the move and was preparing to defend her Queen until Stinger arrived.

Jupiter looked on them both fondly as she put her thumb to the chest and opened it. Pawing through the sheaves, she was careful not to reveal any of the pictures to her curious audience, until she came across the one she remembered from aboard the _Isurus;_ the sheave detailing a business arrangement between Seraphi and splicer Darshina Howland. Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t so much a coincidence that Matri Howland had shown up when she did, more like inevitable.

The sheave was heavy, the information on it extensive, detailing the arrangement Matri Howland had explained about the lycantants and the sapieoméros and their research into the genetic lines and much, much more. The more Jupiter read, the wider her eyes got and the faster her heart beat. Caine turned to her with a worried look, his sharpened senses having picked up her rapid heart beat.

“Majesty?”

Before she could reassure him, Stinger entered the room and nodded to Caine before giving a pointed look to Kerr. “Keep the door.”

“Yes, Sir,” Kerr chirped and flipped up off the floor before sauntering out the door to stand guard.

Jupiter ignored all that, pouring over the information on the sheave in front of her and pulling up the information she’d stored on her com-plant. Before her untimely demise, Seraphi had transformed a number of her business holdings in the Este System; a system Jupiter had inherited and ceded from Kalique. In that system were three main habitable planets; a farm world with a moon boasting an extensive _alcazar,_ a home world of Abrasax that was governed by a Noble House and several minor Houses along with a pair of moons that housed a Regen-X factory and a shipyard, and a seeded world that counted less than a 3.5 billion population of people kept at a technological age of farming and herding. On the sheave detailing the business between Seraphi and the Matri was the names of those planets with several notes about the farming world and the seeded world, as well as details about the Regen-X factory and the repurposed shipyard.

Repurposed for what, Jupiter would definitely ask when the Matri got here. Beyond that, Jupiter made a note of the Noble House – Agula – that was in charge of the farming world Kataprásino, and the names of those houses that governed the home world – Noble House Anular, and Houses Lix, Angrax, Fajad, Puñal, and Labareda – and which ones were in charge of the Regen-X factory and the shipyard, because she had an idea that she would be meeting some, if not all, of them at the party tomorrow.

Jupiter was very curious what they might know, because it looked like, for the last decades of her life, that Seraphi had looked into alternatives to Regen-X.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> “Izvini, tetya.” – Sorry, Aunty.
> 
>  
> 
> Like I said in my last update, terribly sorry about the delay in updating - I've been typing on my phone since my computer died and will continue to do so for the forseeable future, so if you happen across any typos, please let me know.
> 
> As it stands now, there is a second addition to the Arc of Jupiter, a collection of background information and assorted sundries for Jupiter Ecliptic and any sequels I have planned (and yes, there are a couple in the works already, jfc my life). Please feel free to peruse and explore to your heart's content, and again, let me know if you find any typos for reasons already explained. Also, WARNING, in the background info you might find SPOILERS. This is entirely on accident, though I won't be removing them. I look forward to the squees and confusion said spoilers will inevitably create.
> 
> Any questions, comments, or (please?) pictures and fanart are welcome. I'll get back to the ones looking for answers and, even if I don't respond, I do enjoy reading them all. Thank you so much for stikcing with me so far!


	21. Penumbra: Part V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So. This is a lot. But also not? Sorry not sorry.

Darshina Howland was dressed in the somber clothes of a Matri; simple trousers, a long tunic with a high collar and a long, fitted jacket with an asymmetrical peplum skirt that teased the thighs in front and nearly swept the floor in back. Only her jacket had the added emblem of Jupiter’s honeycomb and queen bee embroidered on the collar and lapels in gold. The brushed gold torque of her station rested along her collar bones, the ends two round topazes the bright yellow orange of warm honey. Jupiter wondered when Maggie had the time last night to fit a jacket to the woman before dismissing the thought.

“Matri,” Jupiter greeted. “Please, sit.”

Matri Howland paused upon noticing that only Queen Jupiter, Caine and Stinger were present, as well as a chest she remembered seeing once before, in the presence of another who bore that same face. On the one hand, she was relieved. It meant the work would continue and that one day, all humans would be free and not slave to the whims of those with enough money to purchase their massacre by the billions. On the other hand, it would mean that the work would continue, and their very lives might well be forfeit if their plan was found out before they finished. This Queen didn’t strike the Matri as someone who supported the status quo; quite the opposite if her threats the other day held any water. But this moment, when the new Queen figured out just how deep their machinations went… this moment would define the rest of their partnership, and possibly, the rest of the universe.

Darshina Howland sat.

Jupiter smiled. “Tell me about _Project Rejuvenation.”_

* * *

 

_The story of human history began simply. On a planet the ideal distance from the sun, an apelike creature walked upright and began colonizing. Civilizations rose and fell all-_

* * *

 

“I've heard this story, Matri,” Jupiter interrupted, too irritated by the history lesson when she'd asked for specific information to be sorry for breaking her own rule.

“Yes, of course,” Matri Howland dipped her head in agreement. “But as much as I'm sure your splices have retained the facts of history written, I doubt they know the _why_ of it.”

Jupiter stared four a moment before asking, “And the why is important to _Project Rejuvenation?”_

“The _why_ is everything,” the Matri insisted.

“Then please continue.”

* * *

 

_Once space travel was achieved, and the resources of their solar system available, their science and technology grew in great bounds until they had perfected travelling through folded space. One such journey revealed the existence of other intelligent species on habitable planets in other systems. The knowledge of these planets had been clear since the study of the stars began some three hundred years earlier. As had warring factions within the race kept them from deciding where to colonize and just who would receive the riches no doubt to be found._

_It was during this Time of Troubles that they first encountered the Sargon, a warring lizard-like race bent upon destruction and subjugation. In the beginning, losses were frightening high. Extinction was a real threat. But medical science grew apace the war and a temporary fix was found for those badly injured in battle; clones. Identical bodies, not alive, but viable were kept in stasis for those going off to fight. When injured, the damaged organ or limb would be harvested from the clone and grafted onto the perfect recipient._

_Deaths dropped dramatically and the tide of war began to turn. But the Sargon were not the dumb brutes humanity painted them. Intelligent enough to recognize clever engineering, they too began utilizing clones. Even took it a step further and began to alter their very genetic structure. Utilizing certain traits in their warriors, sharper senses, stronger and faster response times, longer limbs and claws, even wings, the Sargon fought back._

* * *

 

“You're saying the Sargon didn’t always look the way they do now?” Jupiter blinked at the revelation.

“No, but then, neither did humans always look the way we are now.”

Jupiter blinked, her thoughts scattering as her imagination ground to a halt at the idea that humans didn’t always look like this. She wanted to ask. She really, really wanted to ask, but “Okay,” she said instead. “Then how did we beat them?”

“Lycantants.”

* * *

 

_Several times during the thousand year war, the tides changed. It wasn’t until one guild, staunchly matriarchal, within the medical profession began splicing human DNA with that of animals that the war was essentially won._

_Humans spliced with the genetic material of the lycaon, a fearsome wolflike predator native to Ores, became the ultimate warriors for a war fought against monsters. Monstrous themselves, their features resembled that of the werewolves of legend with claws and teeth. Too monstrous to be trusted. After the war was won their creators turned on them, slaughtering their kind by the thousands before creating a milder version that had all the benefits of animal DNA without the aesthetics of their animal cousins._

_Everyone was suspiciously quiet throughout that bit. Even Nino, though she eyed Caine like she wanted to hug him, or get him drunk on the really cold Vodka Jupiter knew she stashed in her rooms. Matri Howland, perhaps feeling the tension, stoically continued._

_Cloning during the Time of Troubles had been refined down to an art by the Matri’s of the Splicing Guild; the best cloners of their guild could be paid a lifetime’s worth for a single viable clone from which could be harvested organs, limbs, hair, bone, even reproductive material and DNA. It was in harvesting that last that a key was found for prolonging life by a single geneticist acolyte named Shinji Zhao._

* * *

 

Jupiter felt the heavy weight of history at the sound of that name. Four lives before the one she now lived, had she set everything in motion? Did Shinji know she would be changing the way humans perceived their very make-up?

* * *

 

_The medical community turned to the Splicing Guild for their expertise in genetics and found, to their amazement, that with enough refined genetic material, a single person could be ‘reset’ to their ideal age and health. Illness was cured, sickness virtually wiped out, cancers and other genetic anomalies caused by an inherited weakness to viruses were extinguished within the genetic code before conception so that every being born was as genetically perfect as the combined genomes provided by their parents would allow. And with a genetic reset from a viable clone, a person wealthy enough to afford it, could live a longer more perfect life._

_It wasn’t until several generations into genetic resetting that the side effects of cloning began to be seen, and by then it was nearly too late. The lifespan of their offspring began to dramatically shorten, hindered in part by the shortened alleles recoded into their genetics during the ‘reset’ process. Because of their shortened lifespans, people were demanding ‘resets’ more and more often, further damaging their base genetic material until humanity no longer truly resembled their original species. Humanity spread across several hundred worlds began dying off, too young and too poor to pay for the reset process._

_Wars began to break out as a complete breakdown of government resulted from untimely deaths. Wars between planets began over diminishing resources. And once again, extinction was a possibility. And theirs was not the only species affected. The Sargon, who had pioneered the cloning process as well as the adaptation of the genes to specific purposes, were feeling the consequences. Their breeds were dying off faster than their species could rebuild._

_Within the Splicing Guild, a single Matri of indeterminate age and standing, had seen the inevitable and had begun to plan for it; several hundred years earlier, just after ‘reset’ had been introduced. With her vision, she knew that without a ‘pure’ source of human genetic material, humanity would be lost. Splicing her own DNA with several indigenous species on a planet near the other edge of humanity’s influence, she began to grow a stock population of ‘pure’ humans._

* * *

 

An Jupiter knew without her saying a word that the Matri she was referring to was Marta Anular. More weight settled onto her proverbial shoulders with a sound like a spear striking a shield. Another life that had changed everything. From the personal journals she’d read, she knew Marta hadn’t lived to see her project completed. She’d been worried about something, near the end of her three hundred year life-span, worried enough to start encoding what she was writing down in the fear that her journals were being read. The last entry had been one sentence. ‘ _They’ll never let me live to see my work completed; at least not in this lifetime_.’ Reading it had caused Jupiter’s skin to crawl and the hair on the back of her neck to lift. Who were ‘they’? And was Marta, like Seraphi and Jupiter, aware that she was a reincarnation in a long line of reincarnations? Did she suspect, like Seraphi, that she would be born again to complete her work?

* * *

 

_Nearly two thousand years after it began, the Clone Plague was finished in a battle that was not a battle. Brasax, a single family charged with overseeing a growing population and working with several Matri from within the Splicing Guild, revealed to the entire universe in a single, broadcasted event, the harvesting of hundreds of thousands of stock humans to create a recode juice. And with it, a new ‘recoding’ process perfected by Phaedra Yon that restored the genome to an ideal state, without the ageing flaw found in cloned material._

* * *

Sitting here, listening to each hurdle humanity was faced, to each discovery that was both miracle and horrifying, Jupiter wasn’t exactly sure that she wanted to hear the rest. If understanding what _Project Rejuvenation_ was involved knowing all… this. That her previous selves may, in fact, be responsible for the way the universe was dependent upon the consumption of unwilling human sacrifices.

* * *

 

_The clone plague was over. But a Civil War erupted over the new resource; humans. Lasting nearly fifteen thousand years, the Civil War wiped out entire planets while the House of Brasax family rose to power. Alongside the Caelo family, who had tamed the Sargon Hordes by refining their genetic material, imposing loyalty into their breeding as the price for saving their species, they enforced the universe to follow their laws and created the deCaelo Empire._

* * *

 

Thus endeth the history lesson.

Jupiter knew that the Battle of Brasax had occurred nearly 20 millennia before the start of the Great Expansion (a period that occurred 66 million years ago and lasted 14 millennia). So somewhere in the middle of the Great Expansion Seraphi had been born, had somehow been informed of her reincarnation status and gotten a hold of everything in the chest and then slowly clawed her way to the top of the House of Brasax to become its Prime. In a universe that literally ran on the consumption of people, the power lay with those that were in charge. That was, technically, the Imperial family; deCaelo.

Next to that was the Nakshatra. The collection of Noble Houses enforced the ban on cloning humans and closely monitored the production of Splices through the manpower force of the Aegis, which also polices interactions between Houses. But with House Abrasax literally the pinnacle of economy and the Empire’s wealth by their control the merciless RegenX trade, they are unrivaled by any individual House, other than the Imperial House. The third power in the gyre was the Commonwealth Ministry, which pass legislature into law, controls taxation and the economy, and offers a check of power to the Imperium and Nakshatra through control of the Legion.

Any of those paths was a viable one but Seraphi had gotten herself into position as the second most powerful person in the universe through controlling the Nakshatra by way of RegenX. The question was _why?_ Why go the route of RegenX and not another?

Jupiter had to think it had something to do with the Splicing Guild and the near superhuman deductive and conclusive powers developed by the Matri’s through years of physical manipulation of genes.

“This wasn’t Seraphi’s project, was it?” Jupiter asked, slowly seeing the thread weaved through the history lesson just given. “It’s the Splicing Guild.”

Matri Howland tipped her head to the side. “Yes, and no.”

“What you just told me; there was a Matri of some historical significance during each of those breakthroughs,” Jupiter blinked as she ran through it again.

“While it’s true that both Phaedra Yon and Seraphi Abrasax spent their formative years training with the guild, they never became acolytes, much less a Matri,” Darshina explained. “Yet both were guided by a grander plan than either they knew, I think.”

‘ _They’ll never let me live to see my work completed; at least not in this lifetime_.’

Jupiter stared. “Marta Anular.”

“She was a faithful follower of the plan set forth by those before her,” Matri Howland nodded.

“Shinji Zhao,” Jupiter recited, feeling the tension in the air slowly begin to build.

“She as well,” Darshina dipped her head.

“Sara Vyne.”

“A particularly gifted geneticist and conservationist who pioneered splicing the human genome with the lycaons she worked to preserve and protect,” Matri Howland stated without blinking an eye.

At her knee, Caine stiffened before glancing back at her over his shoulder. At the door, Stinger took in the look and furrowed his brow as he started to see that there was something more going on than just a history lesson.

Jupiter ignored them both as she thought back to their previous discussion about her pre-incarnates. “Rema Raveni.”

Even Nino straightened at that name.

Matri Howland glanced at her before explaining, “The founder of our socio-econimic stability.”

Ah. That explained how Nino knew that name. She’d been studying their laws and the history of they came about, of course those studies would hit upon the woman who drew the people together and banded them into Houses during the struggle for their survival against the Sargon.

As she brought up the image of the names using her com-plant, the next name up from the list was in a language she didn’t understand, but looked like something very Eastern-European. Knowing that the Matri had said she recognized it, Jupiter accessed language archives in her com-plant to see if it would translate. It came up as ‘proto-standard’ and translated to “Empress Raven Azul Cloud, Fifth of Her Line.”

Matri Howland startled at the name, and Jupiter had to wonder if it was because it was the first time she was hearing it, or if it was because she hadn’t thought Jupiter would be able to translate the language.

Stinger stepped forward, his wings twitching agitatedly. “What is this?”

Jupiter straightened, hearing the note of concern in Stinger’s voice. And concerning was only the tip of the iceberg. The picture being painted was not an easy one to comprehend, and Jupiter wasn't sure she had all the important parts, she  _knew_ she was only getting bits and pieces, but those pieces were damning in the extreme. When she met his eyes, she knew she was going to have to explain. So she started, “I am Jupiter Jones, Signified Recurrence of Queen Seraphi Abrasax, Signified Recurrence of Lady Phaedra Yon, Signified Recurrence of Matri Marta Anular, Signified Recurrence of Bound Concubine Shinji Zhao, Signified Recurrence of Countess Sara Vyne, Signified Recurrence of Mistress Rema Raveni, Signified Recurrence of Empress Raven Azul Cloud, Signified Recurrence of-” she stumbled over the name as her com-plant translated the next name into “-Princess Atesli Koruyucu, Daughter of the Goddess Ma…” before stopping to stare hard at the Matri who had flinched at that title.

“Stars,” Stinger murmured before falling onto the nearest settee as though his legs would no longer hold him up. “Who else knows?”

“Just those in this room,” Caine answered.

“Lets keep it that way, yeah?” Stinger ran his hand over his face. “Mother Makers, more than half of those women were murdered because of their accomplishments, including Queen Seraphi. If this gets out I can’t guarantee your safety, Majesty.”

But Jupiter wasn’t paying attention. She was thinking back on the reports from her first few weeks as Queen, when the Aegis had turned away a great many of those who viewed her as something to worship because she had been Seraphi’s Recurrence. Captain Tsing had implied they were a touch crazy, but now she wondered. “I don’t think we’re the only ones who know.”

Her words brought Caine and Stinger’s safety planning to a grinding halt as they both turned to look at her.

Nino lifted her head. “The Goddess Worshippers.”

Matri Howland frowned. “The what?”

“Oh, honey sticks!” Stinger cursed, no doubt remembering the reports. “Those dustpots!”

Nino crinkled her eyes at the epithet, but nodded her head to Jupiter when she caught her eye. She tipped her head toward the Matri sitting stiffly on the couch beside her. And Jupiter’s attention zeroed in. Matri Darshina Howland was nervous about revealing something.

“Out with it,” Jupiter said quietly, making sure the Matri knew she was talking to her when their eyes met.

After a tension-filled moment, the Matri huffed. “I only know what we were all told during induction; I don’t know the specifics- I don’t even know if what I was told was fact or fantasy.”

Jupiter nodded. “All right.”

Darshina took a deep breath and held it to settle her nerves before starting. “After completing our education, before becoming an Acolyte of the Sisterhood, each of us are taken aside by the Mistress of the Splicing Guild and given an ‘interview’ to determine whether or not we are worthy of induction. Millions of women go through the education classes given by the Splicing Guild every generation. Only a few thousand are selected to become Acolytes. And only one every year is given the honor of becoming a Sister. During my interview, the Mistress told me how the splicing Guild came to be. How a scientist had found evidence of ancient life on another planet during the explorations of the Canaculum System, before our technology gravity-locked the planets so as to control their orbit. This was after the inter-planetary wars that cause so much of our early history to be lost. Historians were desperate to capture any bit of our lost history, but the scientist was also a member of a Goddess-Cult and everything found was swiftly hidden away before it could become public knowledge. There was an outcry from the people; most were outraged that any bit of our history was being kept from them, so a compromise was reached. A Guild would be built that would teach the history, but it would be under the sole control of the Goddess-Cult and those they deemed worthy.”

“Let me guess,” Stinger snarked only to flinch when the Matri sent him a reproving look.

Matri Howland turned from Stinger back to Jupiter before lifting her brows. “Princess Atesli Koruyucu, Daughter of the Goddess Ma was the first Mistress of the Clade, though it wasn’t called the Splicing Guild then. That came later.”

Jupiter tilted her head. “What of Empress Raven Azul Cloud?”

The Matri nodded and looked down at her hands. “Five hundred years after the creation of the Guild, during the Golden Space Age before we started exploring beyond our own system, one of the Sisters and the Mistress had a very public falling out, and the science was forever disassociated from the cult. We were told it was for the best, that it allowed the Guild to become what it was. Yet when I was ready to become a Matri, one of my Sisters two years before me had only just been promoted to her position of Mistress by the Clade when the old Mistress chose to decline naturally, and I don’t think she was particularly pleased by the appointment. Instead of doing my second interview in the Mistress’ office, as was tradition, Meriden Te took me to the top of the Helix, to stand on the glass floor above the spiral tower of the Crèche. There she told me how the Splicing Guild had come to be. That we hadn’t split easily; that the Sister hadn’t left the Mistress and taken the worshippers with her, as we’d been led to believe. It was much worse than that. The Sister actually tried to murder the Mistress, and when that failed, she took the position as Mistress Dorne and exiled the other woman to her home planet where she died only a few years later.”

Jupiter swallowed. “Her name?”

“Raven Azul, the Fifth of Her Line, Empress Cloud of the Second Planet in the Pearls of Canaculum.”

“Ardentis,” Jupiter whispered, because she _knew._

Stinger hissed and Nino straightened and looked around as though clues to that history would be here.

“Yes,” Darshina nodded.

Jupiter met her gaze head-on. “Now, tell me the _why.”_

“You must understand something first,” Matri Howland started. “I wasn’t aware that all of this was connected until a few years before Seraphi’s death. I _knew_ the facts, of course, but I didn’t connect them until Seraphi brought out that chest-” she pointed at the chest under Jupiter’s hand. “-and showed me a few of the artifacts therein. She had this idea about changing RegenX, making it better, making it less dependent on the _sacrifice_ of humans and more dependent upon their own ability to heal nearly everything, even their genomes and alleles under the right circumstances. I didn’t think it was possible, but after she showed me the horn and how it altered the monosaccharides in honey, I knew it was possible.”

Jupiter frowned, “What horn?”

Before the Matri could explain, their was a weird _blurt_ off both Stinger and Caine’s coms and a knock at the door.

“There’s a ship inbound,” Stinger murmured, his eyes that faraway look they got when conversing through the com-plant.

The door opened and Serjo popped his head in. “I’ve got the Abrasax Cutter _Anisoptera_ from Cerise asking to land at the Palace.”

Caine was on his feet, wings arched in agitation. “Kalique.”

“What’s she doing here?” Jupiter wondered while she stood. She motioned Serjo into the room and watched as Negi and Kerr followed like faithful shadows. She turned and touched Caine on the shoulder, < _Secure the chest, please?_ >

When he grimaced, she lifted her brows and motioned to the other Skyjackers in the room. He huffed and grabbed the chest, bolting from the room with a hard downswing of wings that left all the rest of them a bit windblown in his wake.

She turned back to Stinger with a wry smile. “Shall I meet her on the Landing?”

“Not alone,” he was all but buzzing with tension.

“Of course not,” she soothed. “Please feel free to summon everyone. Just don’t make it _look_ like she’s in Perrin’s crosshairs, okay?”

Stinger snorted while Serjo grinned wide and commed the rest of the Skyjackers.

Nino stood, “I’ll just let Maggie know that we’ll likely have a guest for dinner.”

Even though it was phrased as a statement, there was a lift at the end, suggesting a question. Jupiter grimaced at the idea of Kalique attending their informal dinner. “Probably best if it’s just her and I in my private dining room this time.”

Nino nodded and left the room, her attendant, a quiet young man with dark hair and pointed ears, his satchel loaded with sheaves, in tow.

The Matri stood, about to take her leave when Jupiter pinned her with a look. “We’re not done.”

Matri Howland gave a low nod. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I’d like you to come to Máti with me,” Jupiter wasn’t quite ready to start ordering the Matri about yet. “To finish our discussion between these parties Kalique insists I attend.”

“Of course, Majesty.”

Jupiter eyed her for a moment more before nodding. “Thank you.”

Darshina Howland smiled, truly pleased to be considered. “Thank _you,_ ma’am.”

At that moment Caine returned in a gust of wind. Jupiter snickered when Stinger started complaining about the drapes being blown off their hooks. Then, before she quite knew how, Negi had taken up the rear, Kerr scouted down the hall, Stinger and Serjo in front, Caine at her left and they were walking down the hall toward Landing.

She took a deep breath. <Here we go,> she said, meaning more than just their walk.

< _I’m with you,_ > Caine responded, sidling closer in response to the nerves he could hear in her mental voice.

< _Don’t leave my side, even if someone orders you to,_ > Jupiter pleaded. < _I need to know you’re there_. >

< _Always, Your Majesty._ >

Jupiter shivered. < _I love you._ >

Caine’s smile was blinding. < _I know_. >

Jupiter laughed, causing both Stinger and Serjo to glance back at her. Serjo smiled, his eyes darting between her smile and Caine’s before facing front while Stinger just shook his head and muttered under his breath. After a few steps he faltered and turned back to Jupiter with a grimace.

“Majesty, I’m getting reports from Lieutenant Aves that the ship has been on planet for several hours.”

“What?” She stopped in the hallway, noticing only offhandedly that everyone stopped with her. “Why are we only hearing about them now?”

Stinger tilted his head, obviously relaying that question mentally, before frowning. “The guard are telling me that because the planet is governed and not owned that they owe no allegiance to the new queen and only informed us as a courtesy that the ship was headed toward the palace.”

Caine’s growl was low and menacing. Jupiter wrapped her fingers around his thick wrist, reassuring the both of them as she thought quickly. “Contact Aves and Bicorn; see what you can do to circumvent the planet’s standard operating procedure, would you?”

Stinger’s grin was nearly feral as he gave a quick salute and trotted down an adjacent hall, no doubt to intercept the two Lieutenants.

By the time they reached Landing, there was a crowd waiting; all of Jupiter’s command staff that were present on the planet, including Captain Wen and Lieutenants Bicorn and Aves, were standing at attention to the side of the main walkway, dressed and pressed in their best uniforms. And even though she couldn’t see all of them, she knew each and every one of her Skyjackers were present and probably dripping with weapons and anticipation.

As Jupiter took her place at the head of the group, a shimmer to her right let her know that Tweak was there. She turned just enough so that she could speak without alerting everyone of his presence. “ _What have you found?_ ” Speaking to him now, she was aware of the sounds coming out of her own mouth in a way she hadn’t been before.

Tweak murmured, pleased she was addressing him directly. “ _Lady Jupe_ ,” the click-lowing of her name and title reminded Jupiter that they weren’t speaking English despite how easily she could understand him. “ _Found much in the way of people and little in the way of the planet, though there are places of note that are guarded_.”

Jupiter blinked, straightening. “Guarded?”

She saw Caine turn toward her with a frown. < _Majesty?_ >

< _Just an update from Tweak,_ > Jupiter responded mentally without turning her attention from the Shadow. “ _Why?_ ”

_“Unsubstantiated,”_ Tweak chirped, his growls and low clicking obviously agitated by his own failure. “ _Holy places. Hard to get to undetected, even for a Shadow._ ”

Jupiter wanted to laugh at his affront, instead she merely crooned reassurance and asked him about Representative Camo Tae and any other prominent figures. Tweak bobbed acquiescence before handing over a sheave with several profiles clearly displayed before tilting his head with a rising trill.

“ _The local Keepers? You tell me_.”

Tweak bobbed his head again, his chirps lilting satisfaction before he lifted his head to look at the approaching ship with a flat trill.

Jupiter glanced at the ship and then back at Tweak. “ _Disable the ship until I tell you otherwise. I want to know where and why she was on this planet before coming here._ "

Tweak’s eyes narrowed predatorily before he shimmered completely out of view.

Jupiter glanced down at the sheave in her hand before offering it to Caine. < _Profiles and backgrounds on Camo Tae and others_. >

Caine straightened, a pleased smile on his face as he quickly thumbed through the information, his eyes flicking back and forth as he took everything in, no doubt memorizing it quickly on his com-plant so that he could access it later.

The sub-sonic pulse of the engines were almost directly overhead before the Anisoptera came to a graceful hover. A moment later a shaft of blue light came from the middle section that Jupiter recognized as the gravity beam. The beam wavered and Kalique descended in yet another slinky dress, this one pale pink with pearl luster dripping from her high collar and draping past her feet. It bared her arms where an impressive set of bracelets and armbands glittered in multifaceted rainbows. When she walked the dress would trail behind her for nearly three feet, and her hair was piled high, gentl curls framing her face and the easy smile she displayed.

Before Jupiter could step forward and welcome the only one of the three Abrasax siblings that had showed her any kindness, another figure was descending through the gravity beam. His figure familiar enough in dark velvet and leather that even Caine jerked in recognition before his face was turned toward them.

Titus.

* * *

 


	22. Penumbra: Part VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confrontation with Kalique and Titus followed by a bit more mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for taking so long to update this - life and work got super hectic right around the holidays - but I haven't given up! Also, this chapter was sooooooo hard to write mostly cuz I wanted to bash in Titus' head repeatedly and I had to keep stopping and mash the backspace button in order to relieve the angst. But enough about me. On with the show!

For perhaps the only time in her life, Jupiter was glad that her mother wasn’t paying attention because she had the feeling that if Aleska had been on the landing platform, despite their argument earlier, Titus might actually be dead and she’d have a whole set of _different_ problems to deal with. As it was, it had been almost forty-five minutes since Jupiter had abruptly about-faced, leaving _anyone else_ to greet the two Abrasax Primes before Stinger escorted them to the private salon just off the dining room, forty minutes since she’d grabbed Caine’s wrist and not let go, about half an hour since Nino heard who exactly had come to visit and ruthlessly taken over the preparations for dinner, letting Jupiter have the next few minutes to fall apart before she had to gather her nerve and walk into that room to talk civilly with the seeming young man who’d nearly convinced her of the worst mistake of her life and the woman who proclaimed to want the best for her mother’s reincarnation and then ‘gifted’ her a planet that was, so far, a royal pain in the ass and could possibly hold all the answers to Jupiter’s questions about reincarnation, the universe and everything.

So there was that.

As to Kalique; Jupiter wasn’t sure what to think of her. She had been kind _even if_ Jupiter could tell that she wanted something. She might try bribing or outright buying, but Jupiter had the impression that she wouldn’t go beyond social manipulation to get whatever it was she wanted, at least not yet, unlike her youngest sibling. Even Balem had been forthright in his actions, despite the despicableness of those actions. But Titus had deliberately lied to her, manipulated her feelings and her naiveté, had tried to maneuver her into a position where he could kill her quietly and claim the Earth for himself. Of all the siblings, it was Titus she had no wish to interact further with, but it was with him whom she had the most pressing business.

And needs must so Jupiter couldn’t hide in her room like a little girl. She knew, she’d asked.

Caine had smirked before turning serious. “We should probably find out what they want before they blindside you with an offer you can’t refuse.”

Jupiter huffed, “You’ve been watching too many gangster movies with Vladie.”

She had the distinct impression that Caine was suppressing a laugh at that, and wondered once again what had happened to Vlad on Earth while she was gone. It wasn’t something she was ever going to ask him.

< _Are you done procrastinating, my love?_ >

Jupiter sighed, and tilted her head back against his shoulder. They lay together on a settee in her private sitting room, staring out at the warm sunlight slowly elongating shadows in the canyon that housed the entire city.

< _Don’t leave my side while they’re here._ >

_< Never.>_

“Okay,” Jupiter heaved a sigh before slowly climbing to her feet. “Time to face the music.”

Caine tilted his head at her, his face a delightful frown of confusion.

“It’s an idiom,” Jupiter explained before he could point out the inaccuracies of her statement. “It means to face your fears and take what's coming to you.”

His face cleared and he gave a soft smile, “I see.”

In the time she’d taken to hide, Maggie had come in with Adrastea and Amalthea and set out an appropriate outfit for Jupiter to meet the two Entitled in, and Jupiter had to say she approved. The gown was flowy and comfortable, but made out of the softest rose gold synsilk available. Cut in a wide boat neck that only gave a hint of her cleavage, the small cap sleeves cupped the ball of her shoulder before synching across the bodice to hug her ribs and waist, the skirt then draped down from her hips in elegant folds. The asymmetrical hem flirted with her knees in front before scooping down to just brush the floor at her heels and allowed Jupiter to wear a pair of black lace tights in a honeycomb and flower motif. Her boots were black with little gold bows just below the Achilles tendon above inch kitten heels. But it was the jewelry that set off the entire outfit. A simple circlet of gold held back her hair, tucked behind earrings that curved over her lobes and flared outward like the rays of a sun only to drip amber gems down onto her bare neck.

Compared to the Abrasax siblings, she was understated elegance. A rough stone where Kalique was a cut and polished gem. A simple hammered circlet where Titus was an over-the-top flamboyant crown encrusted with jewels.

It was just what Jupiter wanted to portray and she couldn’t have been happier with Maggie for knowing her tastes as well as she did by now. It helped that Caine approved of the boots by the simple method of shoving a dagger into each top, making sure they were appropriately concealed and yet easy for her to reach. He then added a slim thigh holster and a small blaster similar to his Mauler under her skirts.

“Mostly for me,” he said as he caressed her synsilk covered skin with calloused fingers. “I still want to be armed in their presence if they check me for weapons.”

“Because they wouldn’t check _me_?”

He grinned, “Would you _let_ them?”

She tipped her head to the side, “Point.”

He spread his hands before ducking and kissing the tops of her knees and then taking her hands and pulling her to her feet.

As she exited her rooms, Jupiter was surprised to see a small contingent of people waiting. She blinked before realizing _why._ Gesturing for them to follow, she started a leisurely walk toward her private sitting room.

“Sky?”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Everything set?”

Sky Harper took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Dinner set for three in your private dinning room.”

The private dining room was smaller than the main one that Jupiter and her household had been using the last two days, but not by much. Mostly it was less ostentatious and more luxuriant. Cozy to the rich and Entitled, with a table that could easily seat ten and yet was set up for only three. A floating chandelier glittered above the bright gold and gleaming cream marble and rose gold parquet floor, lighting the pink marble of the table into a warm luster.

As the small group entered, Jupiter noticed that the table itself was piled high with dishes both elegant and flamboyant; Kylee seemed to know what was expected by Entitled Royals, even if Jupiter didn’t. For that very same reasoning was the table only set for three; Jupiter would have shoved it in Kalique and Titus’ faces that she ate with her ‘underlings.’ Caine had put his foot down when she had floated that idea at him earlier.

“Thank you, Sky.” She watched as the hawk-splice subtly relaxed at the praise. “Fetch my guests, will you?”

With a quick bow and a gesture at Leta who bobbed a quick curtsy, they went to do just that.

Jupiter took a deep breath and met Caine’s eyes before turning to Themisto. “Anything?”

The Under-Steward nodded, pulling up a sheave. “The _Anisoptera_ stopped in the main Landing Yard outside of the Capitol Building just after entering the atmosphere. They picked up a passenger before disembarking for parts unknown for nearly an hour before returning and dropping their passenger back off along with two others, accompanying them inside the building for another half hour before making their way toward the palace without the two others.”

“Their passenger?”

“Representative Camo Tae, Your Majesty.”

She heard Stinger grumble behind her. “And the two others?”

“Unknown, ma’am.”

She nodded, gesturing toward Stinger when the Under-Steward offered the sheave. “Thank you, Themisto.”

Then she turned to Carpo. The Head of Security for the palace merely offered a quick bow before also handing her a sheave. He didn’t say anything, and he didn’t need to when she caught sight of the images on the screen. Maladictes and Famulus, Kalique and Titus’ stewards. They were who was left with Representative Tae in the Capitol Building.

Jupiter wracked her brain for any reason why those two would need to visit the Capitol Building and couldn’t think of a legitimate one, but could think of several illegitimate ones. She turned to Stinger and handed him the sheave.

“Have Captain Wen fetch our wayward guests. I wouldn’t want them to be left behind when Kalique and Titus take their leave. And bring Representative Tae to the public receiving room. I want a good explanation for _all_ of this when I’m done with dinner.”

Stinger grinned before asking, “And should they not come peacefully?”

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t come when confronted with whatever forces Captain Wen deems necessary, do you?”

His grinned turned nearly feral before he bounced out of her presence with a quick, “ _Yes, Majesty!_ ”

Caine snorted, < _Haven’t seen him this pleased since we invaded Junbari province in Sector Eight with a full contingent of Zeros._ >

Jupiter blinked at him before turning toward Negi. “Did you get all that?”

“Ma’am?” Negi twitched at being directly addressed.

“Can you update my aunt and ask if there will be any political or legal ramifications to having two members of a Royal Household removed from the planet, and how we can avoid that?”

“Of course, ma’am.” Negi shifted away, nearly melting into the shadows.

And then it was her turn to deal with the Abrasax family. Kalique swept into the room, her pale pink dress and dripping pearls a cool contrast to the warm marble that pervaded the entire palace.

“Jupiter, darling, so nice to see you adapting so well.” Her bracelets clinked softly as she came forward and lifted her hands toward Jupiter as if to embrace. When Jupiter did nothing more the take Kalique’s hands in her own, she could tell that Kalique was a little disappointed but she wasn’t about to pretend that they were just one big happy family. Especially not with Titus slinking into the room with a look like he’d rather be anywhere else but here.

“Kalique,” Jupiter smiled, keeping Titus within her eyesight without looking directly at him. “So nice of you to drop by. If I’d known you were coming I would have arranged something more befitting.” _Like possibly an armed escort to the brig for your brother_.

Caine snorted and Jupiter realized that she’d sent that to him and not just thought it.

“Nonsense, we wanted to come by and see how you were doing.” Kalique studiously ignored the splice and waved away any concerns with apparent ease, but even Jupiter could see the tense set of her shoulders. “I understand it can be stressful to set up an entire household before introductions to the _haute monde._ We wanted to make sure that you wanted for nothing.”

“As you can see,” Jupiter gestured towards the table and waited until the both of them were sitting before she continued. “I’m doing quite well. And you could have just sent a message if you wanted to know that. But thank you for checking.”

“Yes, well,” Kalique lifted a cordial glass and sipped delicately. “Some things require the courtesy of a proper visit.”

Titus draped himself sideways over his chair, lazily lifted a sugared confection from the tray in front of him and threw it at Caine. Who didn’t react beyond dodging the treat and leveling him with a look. “Can we get on with it?” Titus intoned, pouting at the lycantant for moving and spoiling his fun. “This is boring.”

For the first time since she’d left that platform with Caine, Jupiter turned to acknowledge Titus. As well dressed and groomed as he always seemed in a velvet vest and short jacket, with his long legs incases in dark looking leather, Jupiter could tell that he was strung as tightly as Kalique and began to understand just why they were here.

< _He is my husband. I am not his wife_. >

< _Of course, Your Majesty_. > Caine’s calm mental tone did more to soothe her nerves than her inner pep talk, And Jupiter felt her hackles lower.

Kalique set down the glass with a sharp clink. “You must excuse my younger brother, he’s been out of sorts since he learned of Balem’s betrayal.”

“Oh?” Jupiter lifted a brow. “Is that all?”

She noticed how both siblings tensed slightly before slipping back into their relaxed mien and wondered at it. Was she really reading them this well after so short a time with them, or was it something left over from Seraphi? Now that she was aware if it, Jupiter couldn’t help but notice the instinctual knowledge she’d been utilizing and wondered how she could have missed it. The whole situation reminded her very strongly of the dinner on Titus’ ship when he’d read her every motivation off her face because he knew his mother.

Of course, unlike Titus, she wasn’t about to taunt either of them with the knowledge that she could read their faces and bodies so well, now.

“I can see how well Malcuthe is working out for you,” Kalique smiled brightly. “This fete we’re throwing tomorrow should be a good indication of how far you’ve come, but I’m sure he’ll be available for the rest of the season to make sure that you’re well turned out.”

Jupiter didn’t blink at the apparent change in subject. “I doubt he’ll be staying much longer, actually. He said something about only a few finishing touches and then his lessons being complete.” More like he was astonished at how quickly she’d picked up the nuances of courtly interaction between Entitled and Royals and how she obviously didn’t need his help as much as he’d been led to believe. But that wasn’t something she was going to share with them, either.

“Surely not,” Kalique laughed lightly, her eyes shaded with worry as she glanced at her sibling before focusing back on Jupiter. “Why, it takes decades to learn the finer points of interaction within the court. I’m sure his expertise could be very valuable to you in the coming months, at the very least. You shouldn’t disregard him on a whim, Jupiter dear.”

“It’s not a whim,” she replied calmly, almost amused by the way they seemed to be dancing around something. “And I’m not disregarding him. He said his services were no longer required so I assume I’ve learned all he can teach me.”

Both sibling leveled stares at her; Kalique’s worried while Titus’ was more pitying, as though he couldn’t believe the naïveté of his mother’s recurrence. Jupiter did and said nothing to soothe their obvious fears. Let them underestimate her.

While they shared looks and silently decided between themselves what they would say next, Jupiter looked over the table at the delicious delicacies that Kylee had put forth. She’d obviously outshone herself with the effort; most of the dishes Jupiter had tried before but some she didn’t recognize and promised to try before the table was cleared. She spotted a spicy roll that she thought Caine preferred and tossed one over her left shoulder, knowing he would catch it. His snort of amusement at her antics and his hum of appreciation told her she’d chosen correctly. The brief look of disgust Jupiter spotted on Titus’ face was just the icing on the cake.

And that seemed to be how the rest of the meal was set to go. They spoke of the Noble Houses and prominent families that would be in attendance at the party tomorrow, and how Jupiter was expected to interact with them all. Most of the basic information, Jupiter already knew, but the nuances that Kalique hinted at, the way she wanted some families paid more attention or urged Jupiter to ignore others… that was information Jupiter made note of, though she was sure to make up her own mind. Especially as she considered all this information and gentle nudging was simply biased at best, most likely dependent upon certain business transactions, and outright manipulative at the worst. Throughout it all the siblings both dropped hints about making her own life simpler, and how she couldn’t possibly want to be burdened with yet more responsibility.

At no point was Jupiter going to make this easy on them, no matter how many gentle hints from Kalique or pained and bored looks from Titus. It was obvious Kalique had decided to intervene in her brother’s affairs, and instead of outright asking Jupiter, they were trying to coax her into offering to annul the marriage, like they suspected maybe she hadn’t been read into the particulars and had no idea that Titus was actually married to her. It was an intriguing dance, and if Jupiter hadn’t been aware of the way Kalique was maneuvering the discussion to enfold, she doubted she would have been ready when the subject did finally pop up, seemingly out of nowhere. But Kalique and Titus both were master verbal manipulators, no doubt learned at their mother’s knee a millennia ago. While Kalique painted the picture of how the _haute monde_ – the Entitled and Royals of the Imperial Court – would look upon them, the picture they _wanted_ to give as opposed to the picture that would appear to weaken their business or the strength of their family (Caine had nearly choked on a sweet roll when Kalique had brought _that_ topic up), Titus played up the annoyed and bored recalcitrant that was too much trouble for his own good, and he played it well.

It was incredibly reminiscent of the dinner she’d had with Titus on his ship where he’d maneuvered her into thinking that his marriage plan was a good one. And while she could tell that Kalique wouldn’t stoop so low as to outright threaten her – at least, not yet – it was obvious that they were coaxing her to come to the conclusion that marriage to Titus would be bad for her and them all around.

Of course, no one outright said those words until the third time Kalique asked Jupiter, “Do you understand how it would look, dear?”

Jupiter nodded and smiled and popped another sweetmeat into her mouth. Of course she knew how it would look. She just didn’t care because simply saving face wasn’t her goal.

Titus actually rolled his eyes before tossing another bit of food at Caine, who caught it and threw it back. Hard. It _splatted_ directly on his forehead.

Titus exploded off the chair, his temper obviously frayed as he raised his voice and gestured toward Jupiter, “The little idiot probably has no idea what we’ve been coaxing her toward, dear sister! I mean, look at her! She’s trained so little she feeds her dog at the table! You can’t expect her to understand the finer intricacies of Court etiquette, especially as it seems Malcuthe could do nothing beyond dressing her for the part!”

And there was the Titus Jupiter had glimpsed upon the marriage dais; the one who found everything amusing right up until he didn’t and not the recalcitrant snob he’d been playing at for the last hour.

Caine bared his teeth at Titus, who merely gestured as if to ‘ _See!?_ ’ At which point Kalique began to berate her brother on _his_ behavior. Jupiter didn’t have siblings herself, but this felt normal, the back and forth between Vladie and his younger siblings a common theme during dinners in her uncle’s house.

Jupiter, who had been biding her time during the meal, saw the faint shimmer of Tweak entering the side door. Appearing behind Kalique and Titus’ eye line, Tweak held up a fist and circled his wrist before holding up three fingers. And then disappearing again. It was the signal she’d been waiting for.

Turning her head enough to meet Caine’s eye, she lifted a brow and waited for his answering nod. Then she calmly turned back to the Abrasax siblings and, in a quiet tone that nonetheless carried, said “That’s enough.”

Both Kalique and Titus turned to look at her with wide eyes. Then Titus scoffed like he couldn’t believe her nerve and even Kalique smiled gently like she’d performed a trick.

“Jupiter dear,” Kalique began, and Jupiter was reminded of the regal, grandmotherly figure that she’d first been presented with before Kalique had rudely introduced her to the bath of youth. “I don’t think you quite understand what it is we’re trying to get across here.”

“Oh, I understand you perfectly,” Jupiter smiled serenely, knowing her next words would hit like a bomb going off. “I just don’t agree with you, not completely.”

The gentle look on Kalique’s face slowly melted into a serene blankness that was infinitely more chilling than the anger visible on Titus’. “You don’t agree.”

It wasn’t a question, but Jupiter felt the need to answer it. “No, I’m not signing the annulment paperwork until I’m convinced that signing those papers benefits me personally in some way other than having complete control over the only other person in the universe who planned to have me killed so that he could get control over my home planet.”

It was both a statement and a reminder. Jupiter knew exactly what they were dancing around; Titus having control of his finances and his portion of the Abrasax RegenX trade instead of those marks being held in trust under her control; and the reminder that the only other person who tried to kill her – outright or otherwise, was already dead and over thirty percent of his holdings now awarded to Jupiter in compensation. She'd had Jake do the math: even without Titus’ portion of the business, Jupiter was a major stakeholder in the Abrasax RegenX trade. With his marks under her control, she was almost even with Kalique for controlling interest.

And that threatened Kalique.

Jupiter wasn’t sure how, but somewhere along the line, Jupiter’s ownership of the Earth had thrown the Abrasax siblings for a loop. Somehow, the Earth was pivotal in Balem’s plans for furthering his nascent empire. She didn’t know what those plans were, but she had a sinking feeling that Titus did, and wholly agreed with those plans but for one minor change; himself as owner instead of Balem. Her very existence threw those plans out the window. And now with both Balem’s and Titus’ bid for the Earth thwarted she was a real threat to the younger Abrasax sibling and all that he held dear.

With him basically bound to her his power was limited, but not squashed. Keeping him in that position would be like leashing a tiger, and Jupiter had no desire to be mauled. But neither had she any intention of setting the man free to attempt to kill her and take the Earth again. And, unintentionally or not, Kalique being here was actually a good thing.

Jupiter turned her head, “Call for my aunt, would you?”

Caine tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he signaled to whoever was outside through his comm link.

Moments later Nino entered, bearing two sheaves and a pleased expression. Dressed in a long, sleeveless black robe with a high collar and rich gold satin lining over a pale green tunic that hung to mid thigh and dark green leggings that disappeared into comfortable looking slippers, she was the picture of stately elegance. With her tight grey curls softened and lightened to a stunning silver, and her light blue eyes no longer hidden behind thick, horn rimmed glasses, she looked years younger than Jupiter knew her to be. A small smile curled the corner of her mouth as she laid the sheaves on the table in front of her niece. “Your Majesty, that information you wanted along with the contract you requested.”

“Thank you, Nino,” Jupiter smiled back before silently asking, < _And the laws?_ >

< _Nothing stated implicitly that it is illegal to remove Royals, so there shouldn’t be any bounce-back. Also, a line there about forgiving almost everything so long as it is done by a legitimate guardian in protection of the planet or its peoples._ >

< _Thank you, aunt._ >

“You’re very welcome, _moya plemyannitsa._ ”

When Jupiter turned back to the Abrasax siblings, it was to find them watching her very closely. She was put in mind strongly of predator birds, and to forcefully remind herself not to underestimate the multi-millennia old pair, despite their youthful appearances. She laid the first of the two sheaves on the table.

“I’ll sign the annulment,” Jupiter began before laying the second sheave down on top of the first. “On the condition that Titus sign this first.”

Titus scoffed but Kalique mere blinked before asking, “What is it?”

“A Forfeiture Contract stating that Titus waives all rights to own or inherit the Earth or any of the properties in my possession currently or in the future, through any means up to but not including Possession Rights or Purchasing.”

She’d practiced that in the mirror just this morning. And she was glad of it.

Titus sputtered before asking, “Did your _Advocate_  write this up for you?”

It was an odd question, not completely out of the realm of concerns but the way Kalique shot him a glare was a little strange so Jupiter did nothing more than blink at him before answering, “Yes. Please feel free to have your own legal council look it over.”

“I’m not agreeing to this,” He sneered at her.

Jupiter smiled serenely at him. “You will if you don’t want me to levee every single bit of your properties now held in Trust by me, including all of your current accounts, personnel and ships, to pay for the number of fines I could already be demanding for your behavior since you married me, husband.”

“You can’t do that,” he scoffed.

“I can,” Jupiter asserted. “As it stands, I’ve already had the paperwork gone through to pay reparations from your standing accounts for the damage your Warhammer Blockade did against the Aegis ship, as is my right. Should I continue?”

Titus snarled.

Kalique lifted a hand, forestalling any more outbursts on his part as she lifted the sheave. While they’d been jabbing each other verbally, she’d looked over the contract and saw it was just what Jupiter had stated it to be; a simple Asset Forfeiture to any and all current and future properties held by her. For a long moment, Kalique held Jupiter’s gaze and was surprised to see the steely determination there. It made the hair stand up on the back of her neck and reminded her so forcefully of her mother that Kalique could only stare wistfully.

She turned to Titus. “You’ll sign this.”

“I will not!” He snarled. “And I cannot believe you’re agreeing to this!”

Her tone turned more patronizing the more Titus whined. “It’s a simple enough contract, and its no more than you deserve for what you tried to do to her.”

“As if you wouldn’t have done the same if the Aegis hadn’t-”

“But I didn’t,” She interrupted with a hard look before darting a glance at Jupiter. “And I wouldn’t, but you’ve been caught and it’s only right that you give her some assurance that your behavior in the future will not endanger those she considers hers.”

“This is madness! You’re asking me to-”

“Yes. _You,”_ Kalique reached up and touched his cheek. _“Think_ about the _Company,_ Titus, and stop this pointless bickering.”

They stared each other down for a quiet, tension-filled moment that Jupiter didn’t completely understand and probably never would, but something was communicated between them and Titus actually shrank back a little like he’d lost before huffing, “Fine!”

Then before Jupiter could question his sudden capitulation, Titus reached for the first sheave, shoved up the sleeve of his arm and bore his insignia against it, forever signing away his rights to Earth and everything Jupiter held dear. He tossed the sheave onto the table in front of her, causing the plasteel file to careen toward the edge. Jupiter stopped it by putting a single finger on one corner and then lifting it up over her shoulder toward her aunt.

Less than a minute later, the second sheeve was tossed across to her like the first, his insignia glowing brightly on the bottom of the annulment agreement next to a bank space where she was to press hers. Titus’ insignia was different from hers; a smaller blue world with three moons. Which made sense – they’d have to be different otherwise how would they tell them apart? It made Jupiter curious about how the insignia were chosen. She’d thought at first that the planet on her wrist was the planet Jupiter, like her name, but there was no telltale Red Spot or any moons. Just a single wide ring around a familiar looking world.

“Well?” Titus huffed, his arms crossed and his demeanor back to insouciant instead of recalcitrant.

But despite his careful mien, both he and Kalique eyed her closely as she bared her wrist and pressed the genetic marker to the screen. Jupiter watched curiously as the sheave carefully encoded her insignia next to his. Then she lifted the sheave toward her aunt.

“Get those to Jake, would you?”

“Of course.” With a smug grin, Nino about-faced and swept from the room, the sheaves held tightly to her chest.

Jupiter refused to look away from the two as Nino exited so she saw the way Kalique stared Titus down before he sullenly gave in and slumped into his chair, the unruffled playboy persona back in full swing. Kalique went a little blank again when she noticed Jupiter’s regard before a frankly patronizing smile graced her perfect lips.

“Now that this bit of ugliness is out of the way, we should really discuss what is expected of you tomorrow.” Kalique leaned forward and daintily lifted an empty cordial glass, frowning slightly when it wasn’t immediately filled by one of the three servitants Jupiter had attending the lunch. Jupiter nodded to one of the girl Maggie had informed her were perfectly well trained and watched with a bit of pride as the girl filled the little glass with a neat flourish and then backed right to the wall again, without a word or a look at Titus, who seemed to be glaring at everything. “We want you to make the right impression on all those families beholden to us for their continued prosperity.”

“And which impression is that?” Jupiter asked, blandly.

“Why,” Kalique gave her a pitied glance, as if she couldn’t understand why Jupiter wasn’t grasping this easy concept. “A family united, of course.”

“Of course,” Jupiter sighed before glancing at Titus and deciding firmly that she much appreciated his honest disgust over Kalique’s simpering. “Let’s get one thing straight here,” Jupiter started, leaning forward so that she had both of their attention. “We are not a family. I am certainly not your mother. And under no circumstances that I can think of, would I ever be united in anything with Titus.”

Titus rolled his eyes at her. “This is a waste of time, dear sister.”

“But you are Seraphi reincarnated,” Kalique argued, her delicate brows pinching together. “I know you don’t understand the intricacies of genetics, and it’s understandable that you would be confused but-”

“I’m not confused, Kalique” Jupiter interrupted. “And I understand enough. Matri Howland has been kind enough-”

“Darshina Howland?” Titus blurted, showing true interest for the first time that day. “You’ve found her?”

“She found me,” Jupiter frowned at him. “What does that-”

“If the Matri is explaining reincarnation then you _know_ you are, in fact, Seraphi reborn.” Kalique asserted, a strange gleam in her eye. “That means you _are_ our mother.”

“I know no such thing,” Jupiter argued, knowing it was much, _much_ more than simple physical reincarnation at this point which, if Matri Howland was to be believed, was actually predetermined before death and manufactured only a few generations after the death of whoever wanted to be reincarnated, and that was simply to get someone who _looked_ like the original. In her case, Jupiter wasn’t sure she could actually explain her multiple reincarnations _several thousand years apart_. “Seraphi didn’t know she was going to die – she was murdered. So she couldn’t put into place the specific requirements for herself to be reincarnated.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kalique scoffed. “She always put an amendment in her Will for a reincarnation, every Cycle when it needed to be renewed, since we were children.”

Jupiter blinked at her, and then looked to Titus who nodded as though it was simply understood. “You don’t know, do you?” From the confused looks they gave her, they didn’t. They didn’t know that Seraphi had put that clause in her Will because she fully understood that she would be reincarnated without any help from herself, but that _that_ wasn’t the norm for a people who could _arrange_ for their own reincarnation through the right set of circumstances and the help of a talented geneticist. And Jupiter wasn’t about to explain it. Not now, when she couldn’t fully trust them not to just _murder_ her like their oldest sibling had tried.

She glanced at Caine, < _Have Stinger prepare our guests for departure and make sure Tweak gets their ship ready to leave_. >

Caine nodded before tilting his head and relaying her orders.

Jupiter cut through their questions by standing. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut this short.” At that moment, Serio opened the door and stepped inside, accompanied by Metis and several of Lieutenant Bicorn’s more intimidating Ground Forces.

Titus spluttered. “You’re escorting us out?”

“Yes,” Jupiter regarded him with steely eyes.

“But Guest Law-”

“Was disregarded the moment you broke atmo and failed to inform the Guardian of the planet.”

“There was no need to inform you, Jupiter,” Kalique soothed. “This is a Haven planet, and as such-”

“Are you seeking asylum?” Jupiter nearly laughed at their affronted looks.

“Of course not!”

“Then you are on planet as guests and since you didn’t follow Guest Conduct I am within my Rights to have you Fined and removed.”

“We can’t leave yet,” Titus argued, a pleased smile in place. “We didn’t come alone and to remove part of our Party without removing all leaves you open to all sorts of fines and citations.”

Jupiter smiled pleasantly at him before waving Serio forward. “Both Famulous and Malidictes are awaiting you aboard the _Anisoptera_."

His smile flattened into a glare and he stood with a jerk, hissing “Don’t _touch_ me,” To Serio who merely lifted his brows and waved him forward.

Kalique stopped next to Jupiter, a sad smile on her lips. “You’re making a mistake.”

“That may be,” Jupiter replied. “But their my mistakes to make, not yours.”

Kalique nodded and then walked away without a backwards look.

Jupiter turned to Caine. “Get me Representative Camo Tae.”

* * *

By the time Jupiter made it from her private salon to the small public Receiving Room, the tiger-splice was standing with his head bowed and his hands crossed at the small of his back. Hone and Perrin were lounging on either side of her throne, keeping an eye on him. She suspected from the way he was standing, and subtly eyeing the way Perrin was caressing the rifle in her lap, that he knew very well why he’d been summoned and brought before her.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t remove your head from your shoulders, Representative Tae,” Jupiter started as she crossed the space and threw herself up the stairs to her throne. She didn’t sit down. She was too wound up waiting to see if Kalique and Titus would quietly leave the planet like they said they would.

“That would be a mistake, Your Majesty,” he intoned quietly.

“Would it?” Jupiter glanced at her wrist band as it vibrated with a message from Tweak. Keepers and Shadows didn’t have com-plants for reason Jupiter had never asked and wasn’t sure she wanted to know beyond semi-telepathic species, so Tweak was sending her updates on the _Anisoptera_ via her band. He’d taken an entire wing of Shadows to escort the transport into space. So far they broken atmosphere and, from what Tweak could tell from their readings, were about to open a hyperspace window back to Máti. “Seems I’ve been told that a couple times today.”

“And has it been good advice?” he asked, a brow lifted wryly.

“Not so far,” she answered, finally exhaling when Tweak informed her that the window had closed and his wing was returning. Jupiter took a slow breath before turning to take a seat on a smaller version of her honeycomb throne. As she sat, she took a long look at the tiger-splice.

He was tall; nearly seven feet, and though he was muscular, it was with a runner’s build. His orange and black hair was tiger stripped, his fingers tipped with black claws, and his eyes, when he finally lifted them to meet hers, were a bright, incandescent yellow. But what struck her about him wasn’t his look so much as his demeanor. He didn’t come off as a politician like she suspected most planetary representatives acted; prideful and domineering. No, he was self-effacing, quiet and watchful. Wary but unafraid. He reminded her of the few priests she’d met when her mother was feeling particularly religious back on Earth. She remembered that he’d flinched when she called him ‘Representative’ at their first introduction.

He stood before her now without any guilt or guile, as though ready to bear whatever she heaped upon his shoulders.

“Tell me, Representative Camo Tae,” she started, watching for the way he flinched slightly at the title. “What do the people of this planet call you?”

Jupiter was treated to the sight of a tiger splice blanching, his eyes dilating in shock, before he took a deep breath and controlled himself; rolling his shoulders forward and lowering his chin so that she couldn’t see his face.

After a long minute, he took a slow breath and slowly looked up until their eyes met. “I am called _Pazifikoa,_ Your Majesty.”

Jupiter had no idea what that meant, but Caine and all the rest of her Skyjackers inhaled in surprise. It was obviously a title that meant something to them, but despite querying her com-plant, Jupiter couldn’t find any record of such a title in any of the languages or protocols she’d downloaded.

< _What language is that?_ >

< _It’s…_ > Caine’s inner voice sounded conflicted before he finished, obviously deciding she was trustworthy. < _The secret Pidgin language of splices. It’s a title that means Guide, but more than that. Like a lodestar, or guardian._ >

She looked over he shoulder at him. < _You have an entire secret language?_ >

< _No_ ,> Caine grimaced at her. < _Not really. Mostly words and phrases. Not a unique language. Not… something you actually converse in. More like hand signs to get meaning across, or your ‘idioms’ where a small phrase means something much more expansive. >_

_< Ah,>_ Jupiter turned back to find Camo Tae giving her and Caine a curious look. < _Did he give himself that title?_ >

He snorted at her, < _It can only be earned through Trial_. >

The way he said that last, Jupiter could hear the capitol. From Caine’s unusual reticence the language itself, let alone the titles given within it, were obviously something not usually shared with Entitled.

 The way he said that last, Jupiter could hear the capitol. From Caine’s unusual reticence the language itself, let alone the titles given within it, were obviously something not usually shared with Entitled. Which made a kind of sense when Jupiter thought about it, because the planet was a Haven planet, and the only people who really sought asylum were those who would otherwise be persecuted; splices and secondary humans without the rights equal to those born entitled. She brought up everything she’d read or been told about the population of the planet, how it was impossible to tell exactly how many people called Ardentis home because of the landscape and the fact that the people _wanted_ to remain hidden.

It would make sense that the planetary Representative to the Entitled Guardian of the planet would be wary. His entire job description was to protect the people from someone he couldn’t defend himself against.

Jupiter heaved a sigh and leaned back in her throne, relaxing as she considered what to do and whether or not to trust a man who, by definition, couldn’t trust her.

“What did Maledictes and Famulus get from you?”

Camo Tae blinked, “Your Majesty?”

“Kalique and Titus were on the planet for a couple of hours before I was informed of their presence and before they came to the palace, leaving Famulus and Maledictes behind. I assume it was to retrieve something. What was it?”

“I believe they were looking for something of Queen Seraphi’s, ma’am.”

“Queen Seraphi,” This time it was Jupiter’s turn to blink at him. “Why wouldn’t they come to the palace first, then? Wouldn’t she have left any of her belongings here?”

Camo Tae swallowed uncomfortably, “They were looking for something specific, something she would have kept separate from her affairs of State. A chest of special importance.”

And that… was something Jupiter hadn’t considered, that her children would search for the chest Seraphi had left behind, the chest that they probably had seen several times in their long association with her, but had likely never been privy to what was inside. Jupiter wondered if perhaps Balem knew, and then dismissed the idea. He wouldn’t have murdered his mother if he knew she would just be reincarnated and come back to destroy everything he’d built, on purpose or otherwise.

“Did they find it?”

Camo Tae lifted his head and met her eyes, “No, Your Majesty, but they didn’t not believe that I no longer had access to it.”

The specificity of his wording caught her attention. “Why not?”

“Because I had already sent it to you, though I did not tell them that.”

He was the one who had sent her the chest, meaning someone here on the planet had been worthy of Seraphi’s trust before she’d been murdered and had passed along her chest and the knowledge that she would be reincarnated, perhaps even him.

“How old are you, Camo Tae?”

His expression this time was wry. “Not that old, ma’am.”

“No?”

“No,” he shook his head. “The chest has been entrusted to every Ardentis Representative before me since Seraphi’s passing. It returns to us when it’s bearer dies and is protected until it’s bearer lives again. Twelve of my predecessors carried the chest before I was informed that the Sigil of Ardentis had been received once more.”

Jupiter sat still while she absorbed what the tiger-splice had just revealed. The way he spoke it was like the chest was an aspect of her reincarnation. And then, something else he said registered and she glanced down at her right wrist. The Sigil of Ardentis. Not Jupiter as her namesake like she’d originally thought, not some other significant planet, but the planet that Seraphi had been Guardian of, the planet that may actually hold the answers to many, if not all, of her questions regarding the long line of Signified Recurrances stretching back millions of years to perhaps even the beginning of history in the Canaculum System.

It was a daunting, if not frightening, thought. Especially when she considered that perhaps it had been set up this way even before Seraphi. That perhaps she’d gotten the idea of leaving that chest with the planetary Representative because it had been left there for her.

Her thoughts drifted to the scroll with the names that she could inexplicably read despite not knowing the language. Other than the strange symbol ƧƦ that appeared at the end of nearly every name which Jupiter was sure somehow meant’ Signified Recurrance,’ the only other thing to appear more than once was ‘Ma.’ The Great Mother. The Goddess Ma. Over and over again right back up to the first and second name.

Jupiter needed to figure out what it meant.

“Camo Tae,” She broke the silence, nearly startling the others. “Do you know of a temple to the Goddess on this planet?”

Camo Tae’s eyes widened. He stared at her for just long enough that she wasn’t sure he would answer before he sucked in a deep breath and nodded as if to himself. “Yes.”

“Take me there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> _moya plemyannitsa_ – my niece  
>  _Pazifikoa_ – Guide, guardian, lodestar


	23. Penumbra: Part VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fancy flying and and old stone temple? What's that buzzing sound?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been informed (rightly) that I've conflated the word millenium (1,000 years) with the word million (1,000,000 years) and therefore screwed up my history timeline just a bit. 
> 
> (Bashes face againt desk. Repeatedly.)
> 
> Yes. I see that now and I will fix it. Eventually. But until then, my timeliine is a wibbly-wobbly time-whimey mess and I humbly ask you to just go with it until I can go back and fix it (After I've finished this storyline, please!).
> 
> Thank you for pointing out this glaring mistake and for continuing to ride along with me on this crazy journey. It's been a year now, can you believe it?
> 
> ~Kit

It was too far to walk so they had to take a transport and because she was Queen and Guardian she couldn’t take a simple transport. No, it had to be an entourage because stars forbid she ever ask to do something simple. Halfway through listening to an argument between Stinger and Carpo, her planetary Security Chief, Jupiter just turned to Caine.

< _Get me a transport big enough for eight. I want you, me, Negi and Kerr, Camo Tae and my aunt and two others I leave up to your discretion. But get it done now, please_. >

Caine’s eyes gleamed with ill-concealed humor. < _Yes, Your Majesty_. > He turned to Negi and Kerr, who both straightened and then grinned before he darted off across the small shipyard with a hard downswing that blew hair and clothing awry.

Stinger stopped mid-argument with Carpo and sent her a look. “Not without me, Majesty.”

She tipped her head in acquiescence. “As you say.”

His look deepened into a glare, as if he just realized he’d been played. Jupiter controlled her grin as both Hone and Perrin appeared a few minutes later, the latter kitted out in the full planetary assault gear Jupiter had first seen her Skyjackers wearing. Hone was carrying another set, but Jupiter didn’t understand who it was for until Caine returned, landing a Cutter with the precision of a tailor threading a needle.

“That’s mine,” Stinger stated companionably as Caine jumped out of the open cockpit.

He tossed a the small black key fob at him. “That’s why you’re piloting,” Caine responded before turning to Hone and taking the pile of black clothing. Then he proceeded to change right there in the middle of the shipyard.

Jupiter watched with a vaguely disapproving frown as Caine stripped down to his skintight underwear, hopping on one foot then the other as he peeled out of the tight jeans she enjoyed seeing him in. She wanted to say something, but was too amused and interested in the process of his fitting into the Skyjacker uniform.

Over the underwear went a skintight suit that she knew fed information about his body (heartbeat, blood pressure, skin temperature) as well as relay commands from a series of implants in his hands, wrists, arms, legs, ankles and feet to the over suit, helmet and any number of technological weapons and defenses built directly into the uniform. Reinforced pants and shirt, greaves over his shins and bracers for his forearms, double thigh holsters that Hone slid a matching set of familiar Maulers into while Caine shrugged into a shoulder harness that fit a pair of blades along his spine under his wings. Two collapsible batons fit into grooves on the outside of each bracer, and an armor-plated jacket and set of tightly fitted, chaps went over the whole of it.

An impressive collection of knives, wires, widgets and thingamabobs went into the tops of his boots, inside his cuffs, pockets, along his seams and inside every fold. The heavy collar of his jacket slid up into a fitted helmet and then back down into the neck piece with a twitch of his chin. A pair of thin knuckle-reinforced armor-plated gloves – gloves which had magnetic locks in the palms and fingers so that even if his wrist was hit and his hand went into spasm, he wouldn’t drop whatever weapon he was holding – turned into a holographic control pad, easily manipulated by his fingers to control his boots and his shields without him even having to look.

It was a daunting display. Much more so when Jupiter realized that all the layers and armor plating did very little to add any bulk to Caine’s already impressive width, so well was it fitted and designed specifically for the one who wore it. A glance at Perrin revealed the same set up, her shoulder-length light brown hair tightly braided against her skull, only instead of the blades along her spine and the holsters on her thighs, she cradled her rifle in a sling under one arm, a smaller pistol in a holster under the other arm, a pair of katana and wakizashi hilts peaking up over one shoulder and the short tanto slung sideways at the small of her back.

At Jupiter’s wide-eyed look, Caine slid forward in a silent, predatory step, the clothing doing more for his demeanor and bearing than he knew. “Perrin and I are the fastest so we’ll act as outside escort, Majesty, just like we practiced.”

She heard the unvoiced question of _All right?_ in his tone and, remembering the morning drills with her Skyjackers acting as escort and protectors, understood. Just as each of her Skyjackers had a field of specialty (engineer, site exploitation, pilot) they also had a fighting specialty. Perrin was long-distance, a sniper with an eye to covering all the angles. But in a pinch, with those blades, she could decimate any who got past her rifle. Caine was a brawler, a _breecher;_ with overwhelming speed and force his specialty was shock and awe. Hone was heavy artillery, a wrecking ball with the ability to take on entire armies without breaking a sweat. Stinger and Serio were pilots, planners, plotters that could outthink every offensive maneuver to drive the blade right where it hurt most, whether in a full out battle or in an one-on-one fight. Slate and Corrine were support and communication respectively. Their field of specialty translating into their fighting ability to a point where it was nearly impossible to land a hit on either one of them; Slate because he could read the body and dodge the hits and Corrine because ze had honed an instinct to avoid any and all attacks aimed directly at zer. Kerr, with her ability to read any terrain, was a literal ninja able to sneak up on almost anyone other than Negi who was so aware of his surroundings at all times that they all joked he could sneak up on his own shadow. And while Kerr was seak-and-destroy sneaky, Negi was defend-and-protect shadow cling. It had taken weeks of constant exposure, but Jupiter had gotten so used to Negi being her actual shadow that she found herself somewhat uncomfortable when he _wasn’t_ there.

Missing a full third of her Skyjackers, and knowing that another third – Stinger was acting as pilot, Kerr would keep close to Nino, and Hone was there to watch Camo Tae – was along for the ride, Jupiter felt like three just for her was still a bit of overkill. But looking into Caine’s entreating eyes she couldn’t deny him. Especially since she knew Stinger wanted her to be accompanied by an entire regiment of Ground Troops.

With a sigh and a nod Jupiter turned to Stinger and lifted a brow.

After that, things went very quickly. Stinger got her much smaller entourage into the _Triakis;_ him in the pilot seat, her, Nino and Kerr in the second row followed by Negi, Hone and Camo Tae. As the Cutter lifted off, she watched Caine and Perrin exchange a few words before activating their helmets and boots, sliding around in the air on invisible rollerblades before extending wings and flying even with the small ship.

The ride was a smooth one as Camo Tae gave vague directions to the temple from the back seat. Perrin rode out in front, seemingly knowing where Stinger was going before he did, darting to and fro as she guided the ship around buildings and through stone alleys toward the far end of the city ledge before entering the canyon proper. As the walls widened and deepened, Stinger sped the Cutter until both Caine and Perrin looked as though they were riding the wind in front of the ship like dolphins at the bow of a boat. Perrin sometimes even looked as though she were standing on the nose, kept there through sheer force as she was pushed forward by the ship like an animal trainer riding the nose of a killer whale.* Caine hovered around and above the ship, sometimes literally with two fingers on the glass dome that separated the passengers from the sharp winds that buffeted the flyers, in a display of skill and ability that had even Negi and Hone grinning. Kerr shook her head with a wry smirk and Stinger occasionally cursed when it looked like the Triakis would hit one of the flyers only to barely miss them without a single correction.

< _You’re aiming to get spanked tonight, aren’t you?_ > Jupiter sent after a particularly cringe-worthy display of near-miss.

Caine responded by folding his wings and diving toward the dome window, only to unfold his wings and hover with a hand flat on the clear plas-crete as the ship blew through a stone arch just narrow enough that only feet separated the sides of the ship from being scraped raw. It was close enough that Caine actually had to fold his wings and touch a knee to the dome to keep from becoming a scraped-off bug-splat. Stinger cursed again, but didn’t even bother ducking at the _thud._ Jupiter glanced around quickly and noticed that only she, her aunt and Camo Tae had reacted to the sound and sight of Caine literally riding the Cutter.

< _As you say, Majesty_ ,> he gave a warm laugh as he pushed off once they were clear and rolled in the air above them.

< _Tied face down and spanked_. > She reiterated.

He hovered close and touched a finger to the glass directly above her head, the front of his matte black helmet turned toward her. < _I look forward to your efforts, Majesty_. >

She reached up and pressed a fingertip opposite to where he was touching and swore she could feel the warmth of him through clear plas-crete and his gloves before he lifted away, riding the buffeting wind with fluid ease.

The canyon was long and twisty, riddled with slanted walls and stone arches that they glided through and around as they followed the path of the river below them. The colorful striations in the rock walls told of the dynamic history of the planet and the depth of the canyon – easily three times as deep and anything in the Grand Canyon back on Earth – spoke of the history far more eloquently than any lesson Jupiter could have sat through.  
In a matter of minutes, they’d traveled hundreds of miles upstream, passing several smaller stone settlements carved into the rock face before slowing as the river seemingly lifted out of the canyon before them in a series of waterfalls, the last of which was so wide that Jupiter couldn’t see the edges of it beyond the cloud of mist thrown up from the base of the falls. And there, at the very top of the falls, at the lip of a massive lake that fed the river, was an airy, stone temple seemingly rising from the water.

The Cutter circled the temple, tilted slightly to allow Jupiter the maximum view, as they looked for a good place to set down. The base of the temple looked to have been built directly on the stone lip of the lake, with part of the structure suspended over water and part directly over the open air of the falls. There was no direct land route; it seemed the only way to get to the temple was by air or by boat braving the ferocious tow of the falls. Easily as large as Madison Square Garden, she imagined it was what the Coliseum in Rome must have looked like in its heyday; polished and gleaming stone, brightly colored silk banners and enough lit braziers to make the entire complex glow warmly. But that’s where the comparisons ended. Where Madison Square Garden and the Coliseum were both amphitheaters circled around a central stage, the Goddess Temple looked more like a throne room designed to receive petitioners.

As they landed atop a stone outcropping along one of the wings and slowly walked through the towering side entrance to enter the open-air nave, Jupiter noted that every surface was etched and carved with various familiar depictions of a woman holding court, standing before a jubilant crowd, threatening an army, standing on the bones of her defeated enemies and offering the sanctuary of her arms to a cowering people. Some were crude and obviously done by someone pushed more by worship than talent. Some were so detailed that they seemed to come to life; the painted eyes and faces following those that walked below.

It was the same woman, over and over again. Adorned in armor and brandishing a spear and shield, or nude and crowned on a triumphant throne. In the few depictions with color her hair was always dark and her skin gleaming pale, her eyes shadowed.

Jupiter didn’t bother to wonder at it, only rubbed her arms where a nonexistent chill had raised goosebumps, though she could feel the heavy gaze of Camo Tae as he glanced at the depictions and then back at her. They moved through the nave toward the chancel and sanctuary. Like all churches, there was an altar. But unlike all the other churches she’d ever been to, this altar wasn’t raised, it was a sunken floor littered with layers of offerings surrounding a pit that roared with a continuous whirlpool.

“Huh,” was all Jupiter said as she stood on the lip of the sunken altar and looked down. “I wonder if they built that into the temple or built the temple over it?”

Stinger snorted at her tactless curiosity. Caine, of course, lifted a brow in challenge and lifted into the air to hover directly over the center of the whirlpool. Jupiter eyed him as he dug in his pockets until he pulled out a small device the size of a cat’s eye marble that flashed when he turned it on.

“Hey Hone,” Caine called and dropped the marble in the water. “Fetch.”

Hone grumbled about getting wet but dutifully pulled up a screen on one of his gauntlets that showed a small, moving dot, which he promptly followed by darting out through a window at the back of the nave, his leathery bat wings reminding Jupiter strongly of a gargoyle in this particular setting.

Turning around to watch where Hone disappeared, Jupiter noticed the way her Skyjackers had positioned themselves around the building; Perrin had perched up high atop one of the pillars in the nave, Stinger moved closer to Camo Tae who was standing on the lip of the altar along with Jupiter, while Negi and Kerr were both standing behind Jupiter and Nino, who was only a few feet behind Stinger, looking up at the depictions of the Mother Goddess carved in the arches surrounding the altar.

Nino was looking at the them with and eye toward understanding them; Camo Tae looked as though he were reading them.

Jupiter watched him for a long minute. Long enough for Caine to come back to the ground beside her and for Camo Tae to turn, sensing someone watching him. “Tell me about the Goddess Ma.”

Camo Tae blinked before turning back to the altar. “By herself, Ma is inexplicably linked with human knowledge. The highest human potential is knowledge and all other human abilities are derived from this central capacity. Her attendants include lions, wolves, birds of prey and stinging insects: apex predators-” He stopped suddenly, blinking warily at her Skyjackers before continuing. “She is a mediator between the ‘boundaries of the known and the unknown’: the civilized and the wild, the worlds of the living and the dead. A Triune Goddess, she’s almost always depicted in one of her three aspects.”

“Maiden, Mother, Crone,” Nino clarified.

“Just so,” Camo Tae nodded. His voice softened into a cadence Jupiter associated with recitation, his eyes took on a gleam as he turned to look at the different carvings. “In her Great Mother incarnation, she is depicted sitting upon a throne, resplendent and voluptuous in nudity with a bone crown upon her head. Her symbols often include a cup, chalice, or cornucopia in one hand for her libations or offerings, and a spear, whip or torch in the other for her victory. Her association with these symbols seem to characterize her as a mother of the land in its untrammeled natural state, with the power to rule, moderate or soften its latent ferocity, and to control its potential threats to a settled, civilized life. Linked with the transition of adulthood of both genders, she invokes caring and protection as well as discipline and punishment.”

As he spoke, Jupiter looked again at the carvings, seeing the symbols and creatures he spoke of.

“As a Maiden Warrior Goddess, her epithets include ‘invincible’ and ‘the bringer of victory.’ Depicted standing, slim and bound in muscles and armor, one foot upon a skull, a spear in hand, a shield upon her arm and a battle helm upon her brow. She is called the ‘sister of war’, the embodiment of strength and knowledge, who so loathes warfare that she refuses to take sides and will impartially hold the balance in battle until an accord can be reached. When angered to the point of intervening, she will reign destruction on both sides as punishment. Responsible for the destruction of cities, civilizations, planets and even species’; when invoked to fight, she will lay waste before rebuilding in her own image.”

There was a quiet moment while Jupiter absorbed that before she turned to look at him, something he’d said at the start catching her attention. “At the beginning, you said ‘by herself’.”

He nodded and couldn’t hide the way his eyes darted toward Caine. “She is almost never depicted without a male consort who provides companionship and protection, often a young warrior or an old scholar. This male notion is bound up with fulfillment of purpose or function: the act of living up to one’s full potential. Together, they are associated with effectiveness; they use all their faculties – strength, bravery, and wit – to achieve results.”

That…was startling. But before she could follow that line of thought to its inevitable conclusion, Nino tilted her head to the side, studying the carvings. “What about the Crone?” she nodded toward the large carving in the center of the wall on the far side of the altar. “I only see one depiction of her.”

Camo Tae swallowed. “The Crone Goddess is associated with the land, fertility, kingship, sovereignty, and war. She’s vengeful when angered, kind when needed, a protector of innocence and children, and is considered the Goddess of teaching, knowledge itself and the creation of life. She is always robed with arms open in acceptance. Her hands are almost always empty, but if she holds anything, its always a single empty horn cradled in both hands. Unlike the other two aspects of Ma as victorious and vengeful, the Crone is only ever depicted in defeat; the lesson learned too late, the sorrow that comes from regret. She almost always appears at the end of things, when it is too late to stop something, but not too late to learn from mistakes.”

Jupiter blinked and swallowed, turning to look at the large depiction of the Crone on the far wall. Now that she knew to look for it, she could see the sadness that line her familiar face, the way the corners of her mouth turned down, the way her eyes looked like they were crying.

It made her want to look away, but she forced herself not to. This, too, was an important part of life; the lesson learned, the balance held, the power to rule and rule wisely.

As she stared, the sound of clashing metal rang loud in her ears, the crack of a whip and a single, long warm brassy note from a horn. The stone on the far side of the whirlpool seemed to warm and breathe, changing from one breath to the next, first young and fierce, then lovely and wise before turning wrinkled and sad, those downturned lips opened and sang, _I dream for the entire creation… I cry for the generation which is now alive, I rejoice for that which is just coming into life, and fight for that which shall be hereafter_.

Jupiter blinked and stared at the unmoving stone carving. But before she could open her mouth and demand _what the fuck had just happened_ , Hone returned through the window, landed with a wet squelch, and tossed the marble homing device directly at Caine’s face.

“You might want to see this.”

* * *

The falls plummeted several hundred feet, tumbling over rocks and crags and kicking up billowing clouds of mist before dropping into the deep pools that fed the river. A little more than halfway down, Hone guided the Cutter filled with Jupiter’s party through the cascading wall of water into a dark cavern over three hundred feet directly below the temple. Following the layout of the temple above, they moved into the cavern for a few hundred yards before landing the Triakis directly in front of a deep pool.

As they exited, Jupiter noticed that along with Hone, both Perrin and Caine were now soaked.

“There wasn’t enough room on the Cutter,” Caine defended when she lifted a brow at him.

“Uh huh,” Jupiter intoned. “Had nothing to do with you wanting to fly through a waterfall.”

Caine sniffed and looked around while Perrin had the grace to look sheepish, though she sent a fierce grin at Hone when he eyed her.

Standing there in the cool, echoing darkness of the cavern behind a roaring waterfall, they were all quickly soaked.

Mist and water coated every surface, running down the sides of stalactites and dripping onto stalagmites that towered over the everything. In the center of the cavern, water dropped in a steady runnel from the whirlpool above, and some of it flowed right back out again under the falls. But a single tributary of five feet wide and a few feet deep ran in a straight line toward the back of the cavern. Jupiter decided to follow it. They had gone nearly a football field in length before the tributary cut a precise forty-five degree angle to the right.

“This isn’t natural,” Jupiter observed.

“No, ma’am,” Hone answered, his attention on the distinctly unsurprised face of Camo Tae. “It is not.”

Jupiter eyed the Representative before looking at Caine. < _Adventure time?_ >

< _And you want to talk about the television shows I like to watch, Majesty,_ > was Caine dry answer.

Jupiter chuckled and turned her attention to her feet as the ground became slippery. The Skyjackers, including Stinger, switched on their boots and slid along the floor without losing their balance while Jupiter and Nino clung to each other’s shoulders as they followed a narrow walkway alongside the tributary into a smaller tunnel. The boots even allowed the Skyjackers to slide over on top of the water as they walked along; Stinger and Caine in the lead, Negi hovering beside Jupiter, and Kerr and Hone in the back, dimpling the surface like water striders.

“Jupiter,” Nino sounded awed as she peered into the lengthening shadows. “We must be directly under the lake.”

Anything Jupiter would have said in response got swallowed in a gasp as they turned another forty-five degrees and entered another cavern.

Unlike the entrance which was shrouded in mist and shadowed by pillars of stone, this cave rippled in chiaroscuro light cast from the water above. Tinted an eerie blue, the filtered sunlight warmed a field of flowers that seemed to bob and wave in a dance accompanied by the low hum of a massive number of small, flying pollinators. The flowers were a charming mix of daisy and carnations the size of peonies on long tulip stems in every color of the rainbow and some that looked a bit technicolor. And the smell… honeysuckle and cardamom, with a dash of orange blossom and sweet frangipani. And that was just what Jupiter could smell. From the wide look on Caine’s and even Stinger’s face, she bet they were getting much, much more.

“It must be a force shield,” Perrin murmured, her wide eyes on the lake above them. “No way that’s plas-crete.”

Stinger scoffed. “A force shield to hold up the entire lake? Or, at least, a good portion of it? It would take a generator the size of a small moon to power it for as long as I think it’s been here.”

“No algae or sediment build up,” Hone argued quietly.

All the others looked at him for a moment before everyone’s eyes were drawn back up to the water. There were no piles of sediment or sweeps of growing algae. It was clear, as though looking down from the surface. Jupiter watched as several large shadows moved in the water, occasionally scattering several schools of much smaller shapes.

“That body of water easily covers over four hundred acres,” Perrin murmured, her sharp falcon-splice eyes calculating distance easily in the gloomy light.

“But only about ten meters deep,” Stinger added. “Otherwise we’d be getting a lot fewer colors.”

“That’s…” Jupiter watched them all try to calculate the volume of water that meant the shield was actually holding up in their heads and goggled at them. “A lot of water.” Caine tilted his head so that he could meet her eyes and smirked at her. She frowned back at him. _“Shuddup.”_

His smirk widened into a grin before he turned back to gaze at the cavern. “Only one way to find out.” Then he was in the air, wings beating and boots climbing hard to give him lift.

Jupiter stepped forward off the path and into the flowers in order to keep her eyes on him as he flew straight up nearly a hundred meters, and as she did she noticed the face of the stone wall which they’d come through. Directly above the arched door was a statue of the Crone Goddess carved with hands wide and sad eyes looking down upon the field. On either side stood the Mother and Maiden, respectively dressed in armor or swathed in a single cloth to cover her nudity. Crimson banners hung upon the stone behind each, a crest embroidered in gold thread gleaming dully in the dim light. So old were the banners that that the thick fabric had started to tatter and disintegrate at the edges. The stone itself looked dull and cracked, covered in thick moss in some places so that it obscured some of the finely carved features. Each statue was easily fifty feet tall, all of them distinct in their persona, and each cast to look like Jupiter in different stages of life.

It was eerie in the extreme, but Jupiter took another couple of steps deeper into the flowers to take in the entire tableau.

As she stopped, she noticed the low buzzing of insect suddenly spike and remembered the way the bees had reacted to her at the Apini farmhouse. Turning with a wary look up toward where Caine was now diving, she saw what looked like a massive wall of buzzing insects all lifting in a wave and moving faster toward her than she thought possible. The sound was indescribable; a helicopter-like cacophony in rippling musical rock-concert waves with a stereo feed-back screech on top of a drag race engine thumping to the air that made breathing difficult. Just before the massive arthropod wave crashed over and around her, a figure dropped with a heavy thud to the ground in front of her and wrapped his wings and arms over and around them both, pulling her head down and tucking her face into the curve of his neck.

Jupiter clutched Caine’s jacket and screamed into his throat as they were buffeted by the raging swarm. So loud were the buzzing of tiny wings all around them that she couldn’t hear herself. She only knew she was screaming because her lungs burned and her throat hurt.

Caine shifted, pressing his cheek against her ear while his hand covered her other ear as he tucked his nose against her neck. It took a moment for Jupiter to understand, but as soon as she felt the crawling sensation of a thousand little feet on her exposed skin, she knew he was protecting their vulnerable orifices; eyes, ears, nose, mouth. Jupiter shifted up, nearly boxing his ear as she covered both it and her nose with one hand and reached with her other to make sure he was fully protected.

Jupiter had no idea how long they stood there, literally covered in buzzing, crawling insects. It was long enough that she and Caine both were sweating heavily and starting to overheat from the sheer amount of friction-heat generated by the tiny rubbing bodies. She was just beginning to gasp, starved for oxygen, when the weight lifted off their bodies to hover mere inches from her skin. She breathed deep and waited, feeling the minute shifts of muscle in Caine as she clung to his shoulders, before lifting her face slightly away from where she’d hidden it in his neck.

What had been a wall of buzzing insects was now a vortex, circling her and Caine from their feet and lifting hundreds of feet in to the air until they seemed to splash against the force-shield above their heads. Jupiter titled her head back to see, dizzy with their spinning and only keeping her feet through the vertigo of being surrounded by a tornado of insects by latching onto Caine’s shoulders. He, too, looked up, mouth ajar and wings held protectively around her. Before she quite knew it, they were slowly spinning in place. A quick glance down from them both revealed that his boots were still on and he’d pulled her so close that she was actually standing on his feet; they were hovering just inches above the ground being slowly spun in a circle by the swarm.

The sound was not so deafening now as the insects moved in concert instead of a buffeting rush. And it was only that lessoning that allowed them both to hear Stinger’s shrill call over their coms.

“- _you can hear me, Majesty! You better both be alive in there! Caine!_ ”

“We’re alive, Stinger!” Caine answered, almost shouting to be heard despite the com-plant under his skin.

“ _Poisoned honey sticks! Do you have any idea what that looks like from out here?_ ”

“Probably as incredible as it looks from the inside,” Jupiter shouted, laughing as she raised her hands and _halted the swarm mid-tornado_ before spinning them in the opposite direction. “Oh my god, Stinger! They’re bees!”

“ _What?_ ”

“They’re all bees!”

She stepped off Caine’s feet and lifted her hands, watching in awe as the swarm rose in a be-winged cloud and followed her lead like an extension of her fingertips as she danced across the field of flowers. Closest to her hovered what could only be a trio of queens. Long of body and elegant in their making, the three queens would easily stretch the length of her hand from heel to fingertip, gleaming greenish gold in body and deep indigo in limbs, eyes and antennae under the blue water-filtered light. The rest of them, striped green and black and hovering stinger-tip to antennae-tip, were thumb sized stubby worker drones, their long legs made bulky with pollen and their bodies literally buzzing with excitement.

It took a long while for Jupiter to come down from her euphoria of not being attacked by a raging swarm of insects and discovery of bees dance before she noticed her stunned audience. Caine, her ever faithful companion; crouched just outside of her bee-wings, watching with a bright expression of joy. Stinger stood with arms crossed, frowning at the bees as though they had personally embarrassed him. The rest, including Nino, stood watching with awe, as they had never seen such a thing before.

Camo Tae had fallen to his knees and looked as though he was praying. And that alone was enough to make Jupiter realize how much she _could_ manipulate these peoples’ beliefs, if she so desired. Nevermind whether or not their beliefs were anywhere near the truth. That was something she _wasn’t_ contemplating today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I neither condemn nor condone the actions taken by animal trainers toward Killer Whales or dolphins – they are just doing their job and entertaining the paying masses. That being said, I think the exploitation of an animal as smart (or maybe even smarter – look it up) than humans by simple means of ‘food driven training’ for simple entertainment is so reckless as to be self-explanatory. They will eventually thank us for the fish and fuck off, leaving our sorry planet to its fate.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are welcomed, appreciated, and considered incentive to keep writing. I'll try to answer them in a timely manner. Now that I've caught up to myself, the story is going to be updated much slower than it was in the first couple of months. Most, if not all the outline, is written, so I know where this story is going, even if I'm not quite sure how it'll get there; characters tend to write their own surprises (we've had in depth arguments about this in my head. Don't ask) and wander down unfamiliar alleys when the mood strikes them. Editing will be periodic as I tend to check and then double check, and then have someone read over my chapter to catch the mistakes my brain no longer sees, so don't be surprised if you re-read chapters and find something new added to support the 'why's of a particular side-plot. So please be patient with me.


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